Love Of All Beginnings
by Mikado's Ink
Summary: When a trip to Suna changes everything, things quickly spiral out of control. Danger lurks around every corner, shadows chase after Naruto and the only one who can protect him is a mysterious stranger more dangerous than the people hunting him. In a world full of monsters, Sasuke Uchiha is his only hope. SasuNaru Slash.
1. 0

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW

Papers flutter in space, a match lights an explosion and two people kiss under the stars.

Right?

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto never happened the way they were supposed to. The world is different but the world is same and a dead heart still bottoms out into a flat line and butterflies still cause hurricanes.

This time, the stars align to tell a new story or a new dream of the old story. The eyes are finally awake, the stone makes ripples bigger than the ocean and nothing can stop the clock from winding down, back to when papers flutter in space, a match lights an explosion and two people kiss under the stars.

Or the story of how Naruto falls for the wrong man, the right man and the same man.


	2. 1

_One night like many nights already passed..._

The guard fumbled with the flask attached to his belt, hands stiff and aching.

"Fuck, its cold," He grumbled as he took a great swig, gulping down the brandy like it was water.

"Don't plan on sharing a mouthful, d'ya Shu?" His partner said hopefully, red nose peering up from the pile of furs wrapped around his neck.

"Where's yours?" Shu retorted, "This thing's more precious than gold."

"Gulped it all down," His partner said miserably, staring out into the howling blizzard , "Had to didn't I, when I found out I was going to freeze mine ass tonight? This place ain't much like the land of spring in winter."

"'Tis the job, Senwa."

"I like the job better when I'm manning the Daimyo's doors," Senwa murmured, flinching as icy wind slapped him across the face, "Inside the castle where's it all warm and snuggly."

"Yeah well, next time, get yourself birthed in Fire Country," Shu's voice was tinged with annoyance, "Shut up, will ya? Your voice's buzzing in my ear real annoying."

The guards fell silent. Next to their outpost, the silver gates of the Kazahana Castle shone brilliantly in the dark night, the blizzard raging around it in a swirling mass of snow and wind.

The torch on the stonewall flickered.

"Did you hear that?" Senwa said, sitting upright, eyes alert.

"Hear what?" Shu slurred slightly. His ears were buzzing pleasantly.

"That sound," Senwa muttered, getting up and peering out of the outpost into the darkness beyond, "Wasn't the blizzard. Someone…"

"Don't be stupid, Senwa," Shu, a man who was smarter than Senwa on most days said flippantly, "Only a crazy person would be walking around in that deathtrap outside."

"Yeah, but…"

"You must be hearing things. Hear, have some," He held out his moleskin flask to his partner reluctantly, "Only a few sips, mind."

"Oh, alright then," Senwa acquiesced, lured in by the alcohol, turning around to take it away from Shu's fingertips.

He didn't notice the shadow growing larger on the wall behind him, lighted by the fire torch almost like a warning. Shu did. Before he could mutter the words, however, Senwa was slumping to the ground, unconscious or maybe even dead.

"Sorry about that," A rich, warm baritone said casually. Shu looked up, frozen to his chair in shock and disbelief, to see the rough shape of a tall, broad shouldered man jumping inside the guard outpost. He was wrapped head to toe in black and his face and hair too, were covered by black cloth, eyes gazing at Shu from a slit in the middle. Slung over his shoulder was something like a brown sack. The jagged endings of his cloak were dripping icy water on the stone floor and snow was still crusted around his shoulders.

In the half light, he looked like death incarnate.

"I don't usually do this," The man continued conversationally as he stepped over his partner, behaving as if Shu and he were meeting for an outing to the tavern.

"But you see, The Land of Snow is famous for its strong extradition treaties with Konoha, not to mention the blasted identification you have to show everywhere and it really doesn't suit me."

"Unkk," Shu's voice came out strangled, his eyes fixed on his friend lying on the ground, unnaturally still. His own body had become stone.

"Oh, he's not dead," The man replied, following Shu's gaze, "Just unconscious. I'm not really in the mood."

His death was coming and he couldn't move an inch. What would happen to his wife and children?

"W-What do y-you want?" Shu asked fearfully as the man slowly loomed closer. Why couldn't he fucking move?

"Money," The shadow said simply, "I would have gone to another country but I'm too impatient. And the stink's getting to me."

"The s-stink―?"

Shu wasn't able to complete his sentence because something struck him around the head and everything went black.

* * *

In the morning, Shu woke to screaming.

"Look at these useless bastards, just look at them! Lying around as you please, while the castle was under attack-"

"Calm down, Gaima," A feminine voice ordered and Shu's eyes snapped open, the happenings of last night falling over him like cold water.

"D _-_ Daimyo," He cried as he scrambled to his feet, "Please forgive me, I couldn't do anything, he appeared out of nowhere, Senwa-"

He looked around wildly for his friend and found him trying to get up on his feet, being assisted by another guard, a befuddled expression on his face. Relief surged through him.

"That's your fucking job!" The same voice screamed and Shu looked around to see Gaima, a small, bespectacled old man in charge of the Daimyo's assets. His cheeks were flushed with anger, naked panic shining in his eyes, "If the castle's defenses can be compromised so easily, think of what the other nations, oh Kami-"

"Control yourself, Gaima-san," The beautiful woman standing next to him said softly and Gaima quieted down at once, "Nothing will be solved by anger. What happened last night?"

"We-we-" Shame coursed through Shu and he looked down at the Daimyo's feet, "We were no match for him. He knocked Senwa unconscious in the blink of an eye and in the next moment, 'was onto me."

"Oh, that's great-"

"What did he look like?" Riku interrupted, eyes intense. A tall, bald man, Riku was head of castle security and his position was also in danger.

Shu shook his head, "I wouldn't know sir, he were masked completely in black. All I could say was that he was a big man, taller than most people I seen. He said something about money and extradition treaties with Konoha before he knocked me out. He-He-," Shu shivered and looked up, hoping to convey his uneasiness, "He wasn't the usual ninja, the likes you see from Yuki or Konoha. He felt different, strange. Dangerous."

"Of course he was dangerous!" Gaima burst out furiously, glasses flashing, "He single handedly broke into the Daimyo's castle and stole enough money to land us in a thick soup while the security force sat back and practically greeted him at the door-"

"Hey now-" Riku began.

The Daimyo raised her hand and looked at Shu, "What else?"

Shu frowned, "He was also carrying something like a sack on his shoulders? It was-" He looked around and spotted it, lying next to Senwa's desk, "Exactly like that!"

All heads turned to look at it. Though it looked innocent, the temperature in the already cold outpost dropped a few degrees.

"Daimyo, I think we should get you out of here," Riku murmured, backing a few steps, his voice urgent, "This could be extremely dangerous."

"What is it? What is it?" Gaima said hysterically, fear plastered on his face, feet retreating towards the exit.

"I don't know but it's-"

"I have a feeling," The Daimyo said calmly, eyes fixed onto the sack, "that my life is not in any imminent danger. My instincts are usually spot on."

"All the same, I insist-"

"There's something," Senwa's feeble voice interrupted, his hand pointing, "Something lying there!"

It was a piece of paper folded in two like a note. For a minute, nobody said anything.

"You there. Get that," Gaima breathed, pointing at Senwa.

Looking extremely apprehensive, Senwa inched closer and picked it up by his thumb and forefinger. Nothing exploded.

"There's something written on it!" Senwa exclaimed excitedly.

"What are you waiting for, idiot? Read it aloud!"

Senwa glanced nervously at the Daimyo, cleared his throat and read in his high, reedy voice, " _This should be enough for proof. Had to gift-wrap the rest for Akatsuki."_

Shock flashed across Senwa's face and the note fluttered out of his hand, "A-Akatsuki?"

Numbing fear settled into Shu's stomach and he glanced at his superiors uneasily. Gaima's face had gone white with fear and Riku had frozen in shock. The Daimyo was impassive.

"D-Daimyo, daimyo-" Gaima was staring at his mistress, voice barely above a whisper, hands shaking as he held them against his mouth, "W-What d-do w-we-"

"Contact the Hokage immediately," The Daimyo said finally, her expression hard and voice harder, "I need to talk to her. We have a national emergency at our hands. Riku, alert Yukigakure. Tell the Kage to send reinforcements. Things are already out of control as it is. Somebody get that sack."

That said, she turned to go, her senior most officials following behind her, one shaking, the other grim and tense. Shu followed Senwa out of the door, his feelings mirrored on Senwa's face.

The Akatsuki…in the Land of Spring…

He had just stepped out of the room when the guard left behind to collect the sack began screaming.

Shu flipped around just as the rest ran back in.

"What is it? What's happening?" cried Riku.

The guard shook his head in terror, screaming all the while as he scrambled back on his hands and feet away from the sack, away from the bloody, severed head of a blonde man rolling out of it, mouth etched into a scream of horror.

* * *

 _Giggles tore through the air like ripples in a pond and a young voice, high and childish, squealed excitedly, "It's finally happening, isn't it?"_

" _Yes. The events have been set into motion. It's starting."_


	3. 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This work is Alternate Universe(AU) Slash. You have been warned.**

 **Chapter 1**

" _Don't really like this do you?" The ninja sneered as he held Naruto up by the roots of his hair, "Not fun when it's happening to you, is it?"_

 _Naruto glared through the muck splattered on his face, eyes blazing with hatred._

" _Not enough, eh?" The ninja said almost jovially and in the moonlight, his Fox Mask seemed to smile, "No worries, no worries. Demon fuckers take time to break, I've heard._

 _How about this?"_

 _Fox scooped up a handful of mud Naruto had spent all his afternoon collecting and promptly forced it into his little mouth. Naruto's eyes bugged out from their sockets and his throat convulsed. Bile rose instantaneously, trying to force out the alien substance from his mouth but a steel hand clamped over them, sealing them shut._

" _Swallow it," He said viciously, "Fucking swallow it, demon spawn."_

* * *

"And up!"

Mirai let out a trill of bubbling laughter, waving her arms and legs in excitement as Naruto pushed her up, grinning, "How's the air up there?"

Mirai laughed again, her musical voice washing over him like a wave of love and everything good in the world, "Bah tikk, juuuu."

"Whaaaat, really?" Naruto whined as if he could understand her, one hand shading his eyes from the sun shining above them, the other supporting Mirai's soft, vulnerable weight as she wiggled in the air, lying stomach down on his feet, "Let's see you deal with this!"

He pushed his feet higher into the air, carefully, gently, and Mirai let out a shriek of joy as she rose higher, "Kakakakaka!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Naruto sing-songed, "You're completely at my mercy!"

It was early evening and the ground, meant mainly for civilians, was filling up slowly with children, exasperated parents trailing behind them. Naruto was lying on the ground, his blond, hair spread around his face; the sun's fading rays make it glisten like gold-a halo on the crown of an angel.

He was beautiful.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

Naruto ears perked and he brought his legs down slowly, much to the disappointment of Mirai who began ranting at him in Baby-ese as he picked her up and settled her against his chest.

"Sorry, Mirai-chan. We have company."

He looked sideways to see Sakura running towards him as fast as she could, waving something in her fist, an intent, manic expression on her face.

"Naruto, oh my god, Naruto!"

Naruto frowned in alarm as Sakura fell to the ground, crawling towards him the rest of the distance, "S-Sakura?" He clutched Mirai tighter in his arms.

Sakura collapsed next to him, panting heavily, "Hell, I'm really out of shape, oh you've got Mirai with you. Hi Mirai-"

"Sakura, what's happened?" Naruto asked uncertainly as Mirai gurgled at Sakura, his eyebrows furrowed, "Did something happen?"

"Did something happen?" Sakura asked incredulously, pushing a pink curl behind her ear, "Did _something happen?_ Something happened alright. Look-Look at this."

She thrust a scroll towards Naruto, her eyes regaining the crazy look she had earlier, "I found this when I was waiting for Tsunade-"

"You mean you were snooping-"

"Details. Anyway, she was called away to a meeting with the council and I couldn't help snatching this, I mean would you-"

" _You_ stole it?" Naruto stared at Sakura in disbelief, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Sakura?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Snuff it, Naruto. Just...just….read it."

Apprehensively, Naruto freed one hand and took the scroll from Sakura's hand. He was about to unravel it when something caught his eye.

"This..!" Naruto stared at the document in horror, "Sakura, this has the _Kazekage's_ seal on it. You stole, you stole an _official document?!"_

"I can't believe _your_ reprimanding me."

"But-But-!"

"Just fu-! Ahem…I mean just shut up and do what you're told to do. You'll see."

"Bacchan is going to murder the both of us," Naruto whimpered as he closed his eyes for a moment, then opened the scroll and began to read.

 _Greetings Hokage,_

 _I was very sorry to hear about the death of Gekkou Hayate. Though contact between him and I has been negligible over the past years, I am sure that he was a great ninja and an even better man. We grieve with Konoha._

 _However, some matters have come up that can no longer be avoided. The Akatsuki is rising day by day, and we as nations fall incomparably small in front of them in our bid to present a united front. I find their ideals, principles and goals abhorrent; as I'm sure you're aware, seeing as how I'm a jinchuriki myself. Something needs to be done._

 _That said, I would like to propose an alliance that would be stronger in bond than any other flimsy political pacts that often prove themselves to be cheaper than the paper they are inked on. Yes, I do believe that an alliance through marriage would be the best possible solution. Past relations between Sunagakure and Konohagakure have been tense and troublesome at best and this is why a marriage alliance becomes even more crucial. We will forge a bond as close to blood as can be possible and the resultant union of our two nations will pave a road for the eventual victory of the Shinobi Alliance over the Akastsuki._

 _To show Sunagakure's commitment to the cause, I have decided to offer myself to it. It would be an honour and a pleasure to enjoin myself to a ninja from Konoha under the holy band of matrimony. I have no preference and will humbly submit to the match the Hokage deems fit for me._

 _However, I would like to make a suggestion. What would speak louder about the condemnation that Suna and Konoha hold for jinchuriki hunting than a marriage between a Kage and a jinchuriki? Better yet, a union between a jinchuriki and a jinchuriki as a symbol of hope for both villages? Nothing, I say._

 _I believe that Naruto Uzumaki is the jinchuriki of Konoha village. If he has no objection, as I myself have none, than I am willing to strengthen the bond between our villages through a conjugal bond between him and I._

 _I apologize if I have come across as excessively straightforward and blunt. Please hold that transgression against my young age. I look forward to your reply._

 _Regards,_

 _Gaara Sangaku._

 _Kazekage_

 _Sunagakure.  
_

"Tikki de gruu?" Mirai babbled curiously at Naruto who had become completely still, limbs frozen around her, face blank with shock.

Sakura leaned forward and whispered in a voice heaving with excitement, "I know, right?"

"The Kaze-Kazekage-" Naruto began dumbly.

"- _is asking for your hand in marriage!"_ Sakura practically screamed and two ladies, sitting at a bench a few feet away turned to look at them. Sakura paid them no mind however and jumped to her feet, beginning to pace, fingers clutching her face, eyes about to burst with some strong, intense emotion. Mirai eyed her in interest, as if she was some peculiar, exotic toy.

" _-_ he doesn't say it directly of course but he might as well have, anything said by a village head carries unspoken authority. The Hokage, even if she doesn't want to, will have to-"

"The Kazekage," Naruto interrupted, eyes dazed, "wasn't he…wasn't he in the Chunin exams?"

Sakura stopped and her face screwed up in concentration, "Yeah, now that I think about it, the exams did have somebody from Suna called Gaara something. Oh wait," her expression brightened, "I remember him! He was that creepy red head who was always…always…"

She turned to look at him, mouth split into a wide, mischievous grin, "Always staring at _you._ "

Naruto stared up at her for a few seconds before, to Sakura's everlasting shock, his face turned a deep scarlet, blue eyes wide with surprise.

"What―I don't―stupid," Naruto sputtered, eyes blazing with panicked confusion, blush seeping deeper still. All Sakura could do was stare in complete astonishment as Naruto became utterly speechless for the first time in his life, flailing and searching for words that deserted him.

Naruto finally buried his face into Mirai's hair in a bid to escape the embarrassment, breathing in the scent of her baby shampoo and muttering incoherently. Mirai nuzzled back happily.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked gently, unable to keep the undertone of laughter and wonder from her voice.

Naruto turned to look at her, expression set to one of defiance, face still helplessly red and Sakura restrained herself from the sudden urge to coo at her teammate. "Why…why didn't the old hag tell me?"

Sakura sighed and sat down again, taking Naruto's free hand in her own. She'd never seen someone look more like a frightened animal than Naruto did right now, holding onto Mirai like she was his only tether to sanity. This was something that had never happened to Naruto before and she needed to be careful.

"Look Naruto, this alliance stuff is pretty complicated. I wouldn't pretend to know everything because I don't. All I know from what Tsunade has told me is that politics can get pretty delicate. The Kazekage has just put forth a proposition, it is up to Tsunade to actually accept the marriage proposal or not. Of course, if she does, she is bound to consider you as a candidate for the Kazekage's hand-"

"What?" Naruto asked, a panicky expression on his face.

"These things take _time_ , Naruto. Lots and lots of time. There will be delays and counter-proposals from both sides. That's the thing with official marriages, they're basically a contract. Not to mention the jinchuriki deal will make the situation even more tense. What I'm trying to say is that the most important thing in a contract is consent and you wouldn't be married off to the Kazekage if you don't want to."

"Are you forgetting the council?" Naruto mumbled as he played with Mirai's tiny fingers.

"Are _you_ forgetting who the Hokage is? Tsunade wouldn't let them lay a finger on you if you didn't want to. She'll consider this deal only if it's good for _you,_ not Konoha, you dumbass. She's a crazy alcoholic but she loves you and she would never bind you in a marriage you didn't want."

Naruto nodded and Sakura stared at him apprehensively. A quiet Naruto was almost as unnatural as an energetic Kakashi. She could understand though. Naruto was used to sleazy propositions in dim lit bars, un-consensual groping by drunken men and people demanding his body like it was their birthright. She'd never even heard of someone asking him to a proper date.

He wasn't used to this….whatever this was.

Sakura's expression gentled and she enveloped both Naruto and Mirai in a surprised hug. "You're strong Naruto, the strongest idiot I know. How could you think a stupid marriage is going to bring you down?"

Naruto's eyes widened behind Sakura's shoulder before his entire body relaxed and he hugged back. "You got it, Sakura-chan."

They only broke apart when Mirai wailed in anger, squished between the two of them uncomfortably.

"I believe in you, stupid."

* * *

"I can't believe you!" Sakura shrieked and Naruto hissed out a 'ssh!,' putting a finger to his lips.

"Excuse me?" Naruto whispered back hotly, creeping up the stairs as quietly as he could, Sakura following behind him, holding the tail end of his shirt with a terrified expression on her face. "You seem to have forgotten that it was _you_ who stole an important document from the Hokage's office!"

"I can't believe you tricked me into this!" Sakura said, ignoring him completely. She looked left and right, trying to spot any oncoming guards. "If they catch us-"

"They won't," Naruto said confidently, a wicked grin on his face as he titled forwards slightly and peered around the corner, "Nope. Nobody's here. Told ya, didn't I? Meetings of the council are usually sealed off. Guards don't come up here. The protection jutsu is broken only by the Hokage or a member of the Hokage Guard Platoon."

"How the hell did you know that jutsu?" Sakura demanded as they inched up the stairwell towards the Hokage's office.

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know, from observation I guess? Knowledge like that came in handy during pranks."

Sakura shook her head in exasperation, "If only you'd paid this much attention in The Academy."

Sakura, Mirai and Naruto had been enjoying some dango at a corner stall when Naruto suddenly realized that if Tsunade couldn't find the scroll Mirai was currently gnawing on, all hell would break loose. He wouldn't put it past Tsunade to dream up conspiracies, revolts and even treason to state before they could explain anything to her.

Alarmed and desperate, they'd decided to take advantage of the meeting Tsunade was currently embroiled in ("Room #3," Sakura recalled, "That's what the Chunin had said.") and hatch a rough, brash plan to sneak the scroll back into her office. After hurriedly depositing a disgruntled Mirai to Asuma with much apologies and flying kisses, they'd tiptoed around the bored Chunin at the front desk, broken the jutsu and begin their arduous climb towards the top of the Hokage Tower.

"Ugh, I wish we had Sai with us," Naruto whispered as they climbed past Meeting Room#2 as noiselessly as they could, recalling the third member of Team Seven, "He is so much better at this sneaky shit."

"Yes, because you can't keep quiet to save your life," Sakura replied, moaning under her breath, "The asshole council will have a fit if they find out, why did I agree to this-"

"My awesomeness is rubbing off-"

"Quiet!" Sakura hissed as the big, black door leading to Meeting Room#3 approached, "Tsunade has ears like a bat."

Holding their breath, they edged past Meeting Room#3 as unhurriedly as possible. They were just about to climb past it when Tsunade's thunderous voice made them freeze.

"-scared out of their wits, thinking the Akatsuki has become active in their country-"

"All the same, Hokage," a flaky, feminine voice trailed through the doors to them, "How can you be sure that it's-"

"How can I be sure?" Tsunade's voice rose even higher, "How can I be sure? Which bounty hunter do _you_ know of who steals the exact amount of bounty laid on the head of a s-ranked criminal, leaving behind the head as proof?"

"Kakuzu-"

"Kakuzu is a member of the Akatsuki and I don't think he's stupid enough to kill one of his own!" Tsunade's voice was practically seething with anger and Naruto and Sakura exchanged anxious glances, realizing they'd stumbled upon something they weren't supposed to hear. "The head delivered to Koyuki Kazahana was the head of Deidara, a known member of the Akatsuki organization. The money stolen from her castle was the exact amount of bounty that Konoha had placed over Deidara's head! How can-"

"Is it not enough that we have compensated the Snow Daimyo? Is it not enough that he, himself, has been named an international criminal with a much bigger bounty on his head?" Another male voice interrupted, "Should we not let the matter rest-"

"No, we can't!" Tsunade said loudly, "He left a note, did you know that? He left a note, clearly stating that the head was evidence for the money he had taken and the rest of the body he was sending to Akatsuki, challenging them, provoking them-"

"Anybody against the Akatsuki is surely an ally of Konoha-"

"Are you _blind?"_ Tsunade practically bellowed, "Have you become so blind by the love that you hold for his clan that you can't see the grave, grave situation in front of you? Have you forgotten the things he has done? Have you forgotten that he killed-"

"What are you doing?"

Naruto and Sakura jumped nearly a foot in the air, barely managing to stifle their cries of alarm in time. They whirled around from where they had their ears pressed to the door to see Genma standing before them, hands crossed against his chest, eyebrows raised. The expression on his face was not very consoling.

"Oh shit, Genma-"

"This is not what it looks like-"

"When I realized the jutsu had been broken, I came running, expecting to see some terrorist bombing the Hokage," Genma interrupted, voice dry, "I did not expect you to see you two."

"What the hell?" Naruto frowned, "I thought I'd done it perfectly-"

Sakura swatted the back of Naruto's head with a hard slap, "This is not the time!" She hissed at him before turning an angelic face to Genma, "Genma, we're completely innocent, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time-"

"I'm sure," Genma said with a blank expression on his face, "the Hokage would love to hear your explanation.

Sakura and Naruto groaned in unison.

* * *

"What the hell, brats?" Tsunade demanded as she swiped a pile of files clean off the desk to set down her bottle of sake with a bang, "What the hell are you up to now? Sakura, I'd never thought you-"

"It wasn't my fault, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura cried tearfully, "It's this devil, he's the one who came up with the plan, and I was forced into it-"

"Are you serious?" Naruto goggled at her, "Bacchan, this woman is lying and she was the one who stole the scroll in the first place, an official scroll, mind you-"

"Why you-"

"Double standards much, Sakura-chan-"

"Shut up, both of you," Tsunade said as she massaged the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, "How old are you again? I've just dealt with those rotting parasites they call a council. Give me a fucking break."

Naruto and Sakura quieted down, expressions a mix of sympathetic and sulky. Surrounded by mountains of paperwork , the faint scent of cleaning detergent and sake hanging in the air, the Hokage's office was where Naruto had spent most of his childhood, receiving scoldings in one form or the another. He couldn't help the nostalgia that chipped at him like an invisible kunai, reducing him back to his old, immature self.

If you asked Sakura, Naruto was still immature.

"Right," Tsunade said as she dragged out a cup from nowhere and poured sake into it, "Hang on. Let me get it together."

As the two Chunin watched, Naruto with unabashed curiosity and Sakura with disapproval, Tsunade drained the cup down her throat like it was water. She poured another drink, gulped it down, poured yet another one but settled back into her chair with it and put her feet on the desk.

"So you found this huh, Sakura?" Tsunade said as she bent forward and snatched up the scroll Genma had confiscated from them, giving it a cursory glance, "Sharp nose."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, before she shut it, cheeks blazing and nodded bleakly.

"I was hoping to hold this longer but seeing as you brats are running around, sticking your nose everywhere, I guess it was a hopeless dream." Tsunade grumbled before her nose wrinkled, "Are these food stains on it?"

"I'm really sorry, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said quickly, before the line of questioning could descend towards the unwanted, "I just saw it there and I…I couldn't help myself."

"Nobody doubts your capacity to gossip, Sakura." Tsunade said in amusement, causing Sakura's mouth to drop open in outrage and Naruto to stifle a giggle. "But the fact remains that classified information has been compromised and I don't know what the hell to tell you now."

Naruto stiffened and Sakura straightened, expression immediately changing to barely controlled excitement. She glanced back and forth from Hokage to Chunin but when no one said anything, she finally burst out, "So it's true then? You're really considering it?"

Naruto wasn't looking at Tsunade, he didn't think he could. His stomach was protesting something awful, like he'd eaten something bad for breakfast. Unable to stand the growing tension in his shoulders and in the room, he turned his head to stare at the notice board on the wall, eyes roving over official notifications and grainy pictures of wanted criminals. He focused on the picture of an eight year old Uchiha Sasuke (the only picture Konoha had of him) smiling kindly at the camera and ignored Tsunade's gaze.

Tsunade sighed before she gulped down another mouthful of sake. Setting her cup aside, she straightened and put her hands on the table, clasping them together to show she was serious, "Is it true that an alliance between Konoha and Suna is the need of the hour? Yes. Is it true that a marriage alliance is the best way to ensure strengthening ties between the two villages? Yes. Is it true that Naruto is the only way we can achieve that? No."

Tsunade turned to Naruto, "I want you to look at me, Naruto."

Naruto did so reluctantly, and met Tsunade's eyes to see that they were blazing with determination, "I want you to know, Naruto Uzumaki, that nobody in Konoha will ever be forced into doing something they don't want to do, not as long as I'm alive. This marriage is important for Konoha, yes, but at the end of the day, all it comes down to is politics."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said loudly, hands gripping the edge of Tsunade's desk tightly, "Can you come up with ways to strike down his choice of spouse?"

"It's going to be tricky but yes, I think we'll be able to find a way," Tsunade replied calmly, "You have nothing to be worried about, idiot."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto said from behind his hands, which were covering his face, "The whole thing is crazy is all. I mean…I mean why me?"

"A marriage between two jinchurikis is-"

"That's bullshit and you know it, Tsunade," Sakura interrupted, forgetting to add the suffix to Tsunade's name in her animation, "that was just an excuse to ask for Naruto specifically."

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead, "I'm surrounded by smartasses. What do you think?"

"It's simple," Sakura breathed, glancing at Naruto, "He _likes_ him."

The hands on Naruto's face trembled slightly. This didn't escape Tsunade and she stared at Naruto, fascinated, "What do you think, Naruto?"

"Wha-What?" A watery voice asked in bewilderment and Tsunade and Sakura exchanged bemused glances.

"What's wrong with him?" Tsunade demanded.

Sakura giggled, "It's _this._ He just can't seem to handle it."

Sakura had received her fair share of arranged marriage proposals, conveyed to her by an overly excited mother. She had struck each one of them down, exclaiming defiantly that she was going to marry for love.

With Naruto…it was different. It was the first time anybody was treating Naruto like he was worthy of the proper attention, not to forget it was the _Kazekage_ and Naruto…was a mess. The fact that somebody liked him seemed too much of an outlandish concept to grasp.

Tsunade understood. Her eyes softened and a small, teasing smile began to play around her mouth, "Now that the messy part's over with, what is it that you actually think about this marriage proposal, Naruto?"

"H-Huh?" Naruto's voice came out garbled and startled, blue eyes peeked out between fingers.

"We've established that you have a way out. However, is marriage to the Kazekage really that undesirable? He is a Kage and your standing will, by default, become higher. You will gain citizenship to both Konohagakure and Sunagakure. Your chances at becoming the Hokage will increase. What is there to not like about this? Not to forget that-," Tsunade's smile became a smirk, "The Kazekage is a very handsome man."

"Don't make me more envious than I already am, Tsunade-sama," Sakura smirked back as Naruto sidled further into his chair. This was proving to be too much fun, "I mean what a catch! At nineteen, the youngest Kage in history. Tall, intelligent, capable, I wouldn't pass up on this offer if somebody offered me a million ryo."

"Who was calling him a creepy red head again?" Naruto mumbled.

"Phish posh," Sakura waved a hand dismissively, "I'm sure he's changed since he was fifteen."

"He has," Tsunade nodded and as she looked at Naruto, her voice became gentle, "He is a good Kage who worries about his village and his people. In private, he is a quiet man but also a kind one who I am sure will douse his partner with all the love and affection he can muster and maybe more. "

This proved to be too much for poor Naruto. He jumped to his feet, a hand on his eyes to hide his expression. It was unnecessary. Both Sakura and Tsunade could see the red burning in his neck as clear as day.

"I forgot that I had to meet Iruka-sensei," Naruto mumbled, "Sorry, buh-bye, have to go, see ya later-

"Naruto," Tsunade interrupted his gibber smoothly, "Nara Shikamaru is being sent on a mission to Suna to sort out some trade agreements. He requires two Chunin to accompany him. Can I count on you two? I heard there's a festival going on."

Sakura squealed like she was about to burst and Naruto dropped his hand, staring at Tsunade in shock, "Wh-What?"

Tsunade gazed back calmly, "Nobody's going to rush. These things take time. However, there's no harm in getting to know each other right?"

Naruto stared at the Hokage for what seemed like a lifetime. Finally, with a barely discernible nod of the head, he mumbled quietly, "A-Alright."

"Hurray!" Sakura shrieked as she jumped up and threw her arms around Naruto, "This is so awesome! I can't believe you're getting married, Naruto!"

"I am not doing anything of that sort-" Naruto protested loudly.

'It's so cute, seeing you blush like a…well, blushing bride," Sakura clucked at him, trying to rub her nose with his but Naruto didn't reciprocate, looking at her with a screwed up expression, obviously trying not to smile. His face was still burning.

"It's unnatural," Tsunade remarked, gazing at Naruto in complete fascination, "I've never seen the like. Who knew you could look cute, brat?"

"Screw you, Bacchan!" Naruto growled, shaking a fist at her.

Tsunade snorted and shook her head. Getting up from her seat, she raised a threatening finger towards the struggling pair, "Just this once," she repeated for what was probably the 975th time, "Just this once I'm letting this whole drama of 'borrowing' and 'walking into' Hokage's tower during council time go. Next time you do something even slightly untoward, I'll skin you alive and eat your intestines. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Sakura and Naruto chimed obediently.

"Good, now get lost," Tsunade said, collapsing into her chair in exhaustion, "Let me catch up on my nap before Shizune gets back."

"What about paperwork?"

"Screw the paperwork," The Hokage replied almost viciously, eyes closed.

"You've become really kinky, old hag!" Naruto sing-songed and shut the door, barely managing to escape the empty sake bottle that came flying at his head.

"I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME, UZUMAKI!"

* * *

 **Much gratitude owed to Michiyuki-sama, the wonderful beta who edited this work.**


	4. 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 2**

 _"Shush, child, I've got you, I've got you," Iruka murmured into golden hair, footsteps thumping as he ran towards the bathroom, the quivering body in his arms sobbing uncontrollably. " You're safe now."_

 _"T-They s-said that I-I h-had it coming," Naruto gasped into his neck, smelling of sweat and fear and semen, "H-H-He said that I d-deserved it."_

 _"Those boys were drunk and despicable, Naruto," Iruka said as he slammed the bathroom door open, "They will never get to you again, the Hokage promises you that, I promise you that."_

 _The Hokage should have known better, Iruka screamed inside his head, should have known Naruto was coming of age, should have known that boys would start to get attracted to him, should have fucking known!_

 _Another anguished sob wracked Naruto's small frame and Iruka tried to keep his own tears at bay, trembling hands patting Naruto's soiled shirt, "It's okay, I've got you child, it's okay, shhh."_

 _"I don't w-wanna b-be a monster n-no more, Iruka sensei."_

 _Iruka closed his eyes, "You were never a monster, Naruto."_

 _He knew better than to remove Naruto's clothes. He turned the shower knob and let freezing water pour down on them in a futile effort to wash the despicable stink and sorrow away. Then, fully clothed, he sat down on the bathroom floor, under the shower with a broken boy in his arms and cried._

* * *

The streets of Konoha were empty except for the occasional civilian scurrying back to their house, bag clutched tightly to their bosoms. The clock had struck midnight three hours ago and even the flares of the night lamps had begun to dim. Far off, the off-key singing of drunkards could be heard.

Five such drunkards stumbled out of a door, laughter and light pouring out after them, illuminating the dark, lonely back alley for a few seconds—big dumpsters, dreary, grey walls and a single, black cat. The door swung shut and they were once again left to the silence of the night.

"Naruto, no!" Kiba lunged forward to catch his friend but Naruto managed to give him the slip just in time. He took off and began dancing a strange form of ballet under the yellow light of a street lamp.

"I told you so," Sakura said in exasperation as she stumbled, trying to support a semi-conscious Ino, "I told you not to give him more than one."

"Forgive me for not knowing such ridiculous lightweights still exist in this world," Kiba grumbled before he rubbed a hand over his face, "Fuck, I should have drank more."

"Hear, hear," Sakura said crossly, hauling Ino forward with all her might, "I don't feel drunk at all. So much for getting shitfaced. Fucking Ino."

The rest of their teammates were away on missions and Ino had claimed, quite forcibly, that since it was only the five of them, it was an opportune moment to 'let go' and 'get shitfaced.' She had been unusually aggressive when trying to convince them and no one, not even Naruto, had been able to resist her clawed Grip of Death.

"It's _Ino,_ Sakura," Shikamaru replied tiredly, Ino's support on the other side, barely managing to right them again as they went careening towards the left, "What the fuck did you expect?"

"She's being more extreme than usual, isn't she?"

"It's Choji."

As if the name was a trigger word, Ino's head, previously rolling around like it was possessed, looked up straight at Kiba, spooking him a little. Her makeup was a mess and her eyes looked like they had been doused with water.

"I'm sorry," Ino croaked, tightening her arms around Shikamaru and Sakura, making them wince, "I r-refuse to belive in a univerrrrse where Choji…fucking _Choji_ …manages to get a date _before me!_ "

"Aaaah," Kiba said in great understanding, nodding his head, "So that's what it's about."

"It was today," Sakura added grimly.

"There's more," Shikamaru muttered.

"And…and…and," Ino looked up at the sky, expression sour with disbelief and intoxication, "it was with a _carrrrrrier!"_

"What?" Kiba choked and whipped around to stare at his friends, "But…but…but," Kiba seemed to be experiencing the same incredulity Ino was going through, "but how? He's… _fat_."

"I'd like you to say that in front of him. And for God's sake, somebody catch Naruto."

"Aren't you being a little shallow?" Sakura glared.

"You know what I mean!" Kiba burst out, "A date…with a carrier-" his voice was wistful and filled with longing, "is something us mortals can only dream about."

"Choji's living the dream, then."

"How the _hell,"_ Kiba asked in amazement, "did _Choji_ , of all people, manage to nab a carrier?"

"I don't know!" Ino shrieked suddenly before her head lolled again.

"Ugghh. _Men_ ," Sakura muttered, ignoring the very female Ino, "Isn't it just typical of guys to judge people based solely on their looks? Newsflash Kiba, Choji's one of the sweetest and nicest guys around and his date rightly values that. Unlike _you."_

"Bull. Looks matter, even if you don't want to admit it. Carriers are _beautiful._ They can have anybody they want. Are you honestly telling me that you don't think twice before accepting a date from a faa…I mean an un-appealing person?" Kiba rebuked.

Sakura shrugged, "If he's nice, sure why not? He'd definitely be a better date than you."

Kiba reddened and opened his mouth to retort back when Shikamaru interrupted, voice wry, "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

Sakura and Kiba turned to him with puzzled expressions, "Huh?"

Shikamaru sighed before he lifted his free hand and pointed, "That guy over there is also a carrier, you know."

All three heads (including Ino) turned on queue to look in the aforementioned direction. They found Naruto, cheeks flushed with intoxication, hugging a pole, talking to it as if it was a distressed lover- 'You have nothing to worry about! Dango can never compete with my love for you, Ramen-chan. We will be together forever and always." Here, he put his lips on the pole and gave it a loud, wet smooch.

Ino made a sound which would have been a snort if it didn't sound more like a cat gurgling and sagged against Sakura and Shikamaru, lifeless once again.

"What, Naruto?" Kiba said dismissively, not even sparing his friend another glance, "C'mon, people, Naruto's one of the guys. _Nobody_ looks at him that way."

"You would be surprised," Sakura said quietly.

Kiba gaped at Sakura for a few seconds, "Seriously?" He wrinkled his nose, "Naruto? Who the hell?"

"It's none of your business," Sakura mimed zipping her mouth and throwing away the key, even though her eyes sparkled with mischief and excitement.

"That's bullshit. Anything happening in Konoha is everybody's business."

"I ain' telling."

"C'mon!"

"Nope."

"You're such a hypocrite, Sakura!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think?"

"Kiba-"

"You're so nosy you give Ino and Shikamaru's mom competition-"

Shikamaru snorted.

"-and what was that bullshit about personality over looks? _Excuse you_. If I remember correctly, wasn't it you and Ino who used to sneak into the training grounds to watch Neji train so you could, and I quote, 'admire his delicious biceps'? Don't act like you're so much better than me because you are _not_ ," Kiba finished, chest heaving.

In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Kiba fidgeted uneasily while Shikamaru looked up at sky, Ino snuffling at his shoulder. Sakura's cheeks had turned red with embarrassment and rage.

"This is why," Sakura began icily, glaring daggers at Kiba, "you can't get a date Inuzuka, let alone a date with a carrier."

"Hey-" Whatever Kiba was about to say was drowned out by a sudden scream, making them all jump.

They turned around to see Naruto on the ground on all his fours, staring at them beseechingly, "I paid them extra money to get it for me but just before I could enter the Land of Noodles, it disappeared! Guys, help, this is an emergency!"

Overhead, one of the windows opened and a gruff, angry voice called out, "Will you shut it! People are trying to sleep here!"

"Sorry, sorry," Kiba called out hurriedly, "Please don't call the police, my mom will kill me, Naruto, c'mon-'

" _Oh no_ ," Sakura broke in, voice sickly sweet, "Naruto is such a handful when he's drunk, we don't want to inconvenience you, now do we Shikamaru?" Before Shikamaru could reply, Sakura had already hauled Ino away and thrown her at a horrified Kiba with all her superior strength, "Please take her home. Oh, also, don't forget to explain to her _really_ overprotective father why she's so drunk, okay? Be careful about what you say, he gets dangerous when he's mad!"

"Toodles!" Waving at a still stricken Kiba who had his hands full of zombie Ino draped over him like a carpet, Sakura walked forward, lifted a squealing Naruto into her arms and began striding in the opposite direction, " _Shikamaru, you're coming to help me, aren't you?"_

Flashing an apologetic glance at Kiba, Shikamaru turned and began following his mistress, "Aye, aye, captain."

Ino giggled as she drooled over Kiba's shoulder, poking him in the cheek, "Looks like it's just you and me, eh?"

Kiba closed his eyes, trying very hard not to cry.

* * *

"That will teach him."

Shikamaru nodded his head thoughtfully, "Indeed."

"Hold him, would you?" Sakura said, hoisting a sleeping Naruto onto Shikamaru, "He's surprisingly light."

Shikamaru received the burden with an 'oof' before correcting his grip and lifting Naruto onto his back, "You were doing just fine before."

"I'm not a man," Sakura sniffed, "It's unladylike."

"You are very troublesome."

"Got a problem?"

"No, ma'am."

* * *

Naruto's place, to put it bluntly, was a complete pigsty. The apartment seemed to have been struck by a hurricane—clothes, scrolls and weapons scattered everywhere, furniture, whatever little there was, was covered with a thin layer of dust. Spiders were nesting happily in their cobwebs in practically every corner and the strong smell of salt and noodle broth in the air made Sakura wrinkle her nose.

"Does he practice the Rasengan here or something?" Sakura said grumpily as she hopped over a pile of empty ramen bowls, "I have half a mind to smack him awake and make him clean this shit up."

Shikamaru glanced around lazily, observing the sorry state of affairs, "He doesn't spend a lot of time here, does he?"

"Naruto is Naruto," Sakura answered in way of explanation, grunting as she wrestled her way through the cloth piles lying everywhere, "He doesn't like to be alone."

She began picking up the shuriken and kunai lying all across the floor, a disgruntled expression on her face, "Geez, he could hurt himself with these! This baka needs a full time nanny to look after him, I swear to God."

"Right you are, mom," Shikamaru said under his breath, turning to walk towards the bed. It was an awkward thing, Naruto's small bed, covered as it was with a blindingly orange bed sheet. Its hygiene was questionable and though it left a lot to be desired, the sheets appeared to be clean. Shikamaru decided that it would do as he pulled Naruto off his back and gently deposited him on the bed.

Naruto stirred, sensing familiar grounds, and rolled over to the side, spreading out like a starfish, "My…face…" His eyes opened slightly, expression that of a drugged cat, hands coming up to pat his cheeks and forehead. When he had confirmed that yes, he did have a face, his eyes closed, hands curling around his neck, brain switching off once again.

Shikamaru snorted and rolled his eyes. Only Naruto.

"I'm off, then," He told Sakura, walking towards the window, "See you on Friday. Report to the gates on time, we have a lot of distance to cover."

He had one foot dangling in the air when Sakura called out to him, voice hesitant, "Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru turned to her, "Yeah?"

Sakura was staring at him, eyes curious, "Can I…Can I ask you a question?"

Shikamaru sighed internally. He knew what was coming. One of those blasted heart to heart talks. He'd had countless experience with Ino and Temari, mostly Ino, both consensual and non-consensual. His instincts were telling him that Sakura would not appreciate it if he told her that all he wanted right now was his bed and to hold her fucking question for another day. So he merely nodded, jumped up to sit on the window sill and said,

"Shoot."

Sakura was fiddling with the edge of her tunic, a strange gesture from a woman so stunningly confident all the time and Shikamaru accurately guessed that this was a sensitive topic, meaning extra time. Mentally kissing sleep good bye, Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his eyebrows, "You'll have to ask the question for me to answer it, Sakura. I can't read minds."

"It's just…it's just," Sakura bit her lip, "Don't…don't take this the wrong way but…but you're attracted to Naruto, aren't you?"

Shikamaru started, eyes widening slightly. Okay, he hadn't expected that, "What makes you say that?"

Sakura flushed and scratched her cheek in embarrassment, sharp, green eyes trained on him all the while, "Call it women's intuition or whatever but…I can tell when a man's looking at somebody in interest or appreciation. I'm not a genius like you or Neji but I'm also not as dense as Ino or Kiba. I'm pretty smart. Sometimes, I notice things others don't."

Shikamaru gazed back at her in surprise. He had underestimated Sakura. Making a mental note to never make such a mistake again, Shikamaru sighed and leaned back, smiling slightly, "You're right."

"I am?" Sakura didn't know what do with the information, now that she had it.

Shikamaru shrugged carelessly, "It's nature's imperative, Sakura. You do know how hard it is for men to resist carriers right? I'm not a god."

"Yeah, but…" Sakura trailed off, eyes on Naruto, expression skeptical, "Naruto…?"

 _Manipulative bitch,_ Shikamaru thought before he said, "Don't try to test me, Sakura. You know perfectly well how attractive men find Naruto. He just hides it very, very well."

Sakura turned to him and now she was smiling, "Which is it? Power of observation or looking underneath the underneath?"

"A bit of both," Shikamaru shrugged again, "Naruto's nearly perfected his 'masculine' cover but if you're looking, you can't miss it."

"He tries to copy Kiba," Sakura laughed, eyes twinkling, "Have you noticed? Half of it is his own innate obnoxiousness and the other half, he imitates. Kiba and Jraiya mostly."

' _Blondes,_ " Shikamaru said quietly but this time, Sakura caught it.

"Don't let Temari hear you say that," Sakura smirked.

No matter how cool or unaffected Shikamaru Nara behaved, it was an indisputable fact, enjoyed by his friends with exaggerated glee, that whenever Shikamaru was threatened with the name of his girlfriend, he turned a little pale, "Please don't tell her."

"I won't," Sakura was still smiling, eyes looking at the sleeping form of Naruto, "Just out of curiosity…"

"What now?" Shikamaru grumbled, thinking longingly of his bed.

"Is the Kazekage a good man?"

Shikamaru looked at Sakura, "You're being strange today." _And unpredictable. Troublesome._

"I have a lot of things on my mind."

Shikamaru sighed for probably the zillionth time that day, "I don't know what you're up to and I don't want to. Just remember to keep me out of it."

"Don't be such a bore, Shika."

"Gaara is more than a good man," Shikamaru said quietly, climbing out of the window, "Gaara is a great man, probably the noblest guy I know. Kind of like Naruto without all the…"Shikamaru's eye twitched, "…orange."

"That's good to hear," Sakura's eyes shimmered with some strange emotion and Shikamaru's narrowed in speculation.

"Speaking of noble, you've done this talk with all the others too, then?"

"What others?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Oh," Shikamaru said, "You don't know."

"What others, Nara?" Sakura nearly snarled, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You and I are not the only ones who notice things, Sakura," Shikamaru smirked as he dropped out of sight, "Ja ne."

* * *

The sun hit him squarely in the face and Naruto scrunched his eyes, blinking rapidly as he opened them slowly. The wind whistled through his hair, caressing his face; the distant, faraway sound of wind chimes still ringing in his head.

 _What was I dreaming about?_

He stared up at the dust motes floating around the ceiling, dazed. His gaudy, dark brown curtains rustled as the wind picked up outside. Somebody had left the window open and he could hear the noises from the market, not too far away from his apartment building, buzzing with activity.

 _It felt...so different._

Slowly, mind still hazy with sleep, he put his arms in the air, letting the sun rays peaking through the curtains light up his hands. He turned them around lazily, observing, eyes narrowed in concentration. They were small hands, slender and long-fingered, completely at odds with his big, blunt personality. He had never liked them, never liked the way they felt, soft and blemish free, refusing to let the evidence of his hard work, the sweat of his labor show up on his body, the calluses and scars he yearned for, the sign of a true ninja, still absent as ever. He felt frustrated and angry, embarrassed even, by their weak appearance, hands that belonged to a perfumer rather than a ninja...

But...but...

In his dream, somebody had been _holding_ them. Not the way Sakura-chan held them, firm and reassuring, delivering a squeeze of comfort whenever needed or the way Kiba did, crushing and challenging, provoking him to another battle. It didn't match Iruka-sensei's warm, paternal hold either, nor did it match the grip of an enemy, cruel and painful, invoking fear and adrenaline. It had felt so...gentle and... _intimate..._

Naruto frowned and began trying to arrange his hands in the way he remembered from the echo of his dream. After a minute of frustrated confusion, the fingers of his left hand fell into the gaps of his right by accident, interlinking seamlessly and Naruto was suddenly assaulted by a rush of memories—

— _the window is banging against the wall, loud and jarring and he shouts in frustration, "will somebody get that damned thing already!" Two guards rush forward and snap it close but you aren't paying attention because you are too busy wrestling the clothes away from the wire. The wind is howling fiercely but you can't stop laughing, the wind making your hair fly everywhere, slapping you in the face._

 _"Come inside before it hits!" He yells from the porch._

 _"Coming!" You yell. The clouds thunders once, twice before the skies open and soon your laughter turns into a shriek as you are drenched to your skin. You hurriedly throw whatever clothes you can salvage into the basket and make a run for shelter._

 _You can't help it. You began to laugh again as shivers rack up your spine and your clothes drip water all over the wooden floor. Pushing a hand through your hair, now matted to your head in clumps, you chuckle, "The Gods don't like me, do they?"_

 _He throws a cloth at your head, "I can't blame them," He begins to rub your hair, expression severe, but hands extremely gentle, "You are as foolish as they come."_

 _You frown at him, "And what does that make you?"_

 _He smiles a slow, sheepish smile, "Even stupider." He admits finally._

 _You hold in your own smile and turn around haughtily, "Well, then-"_

 _He catches you by the wrist and drags you back to him. You pretend to struggle, screeching in outrage and laughter. You throw out a hand to push back against his chest but he catches it, interlinking it with his own and bringing it to his lips, planting a rough kiss on your knuckles, "Stupidly in love with you."_

 _Your heart stops beating and you stare at him, speechless. He stares back._

 _The wind howls louder, rattling the doors, water hitting the roof like a celebration. Somewhere in the maid's cottage, a baby is crying._

 _You can hear the wind chimes pealing._

Naruto jerked upright, eyes wide, face as red as a tomato.

"Oh god," He muttered into his hand, "Oh my god."

He'd been dreaming about him. _Gaara._

Unable to deal with this, face still burning, Naruto splayed out his hands and gathered all the sheets around himself. Huddling deeper into his cocoon, he stared at the wall in mortification.

"Are you a pervert?" He mumbled to himself, "Are you so desperate that you're dreaming about a man you've never properly met? Never again, I swear. I'll never go drinking again. Never again..."

He trailed of, eyes focusing on his hands, trying to remember the feel of a hand interlinked with his. A big hand, a workman's hand, calluses catching against his own soft skin, entwined with his so intimately, a hold reserved for lovers—

"Stop it!" Naruto shook his head violently, gripping it in embarrassment, "Stop it, stupid brain. Ughhh!"

Muttering to himself, Naruto stumbled off the bed, the sheets dragging behind him and staggered to the bathroom. He pushed the door open with a bang, making the mirror hanging on the wall shake precariously, avoiding looking at his reflection. He didn't need a mirror to confront himself. He knew how he looked.

Stripping off his clothes, letting them pool around his feet along with the sheets, Naruto pushed through the shower curtain and turned the knob. Freezing cold water poured out of the shower head, hitting his heated skin like poison darts but Naruto didn't make a sound, hands wrapped around himself, eyes closed.

He didn't need Sakura or Tsunade to tell him what was happening to him. He was developing feelings for a man that was a stranger to him. A man he hardly remembered and had never spoken to. He was fantasizing about him in broad daylight and dreaming about what it would be like to be with him, to be together with him, _romantically._

Naruto was no stranger to these emotions.

Naruto, hopelessly twelve, would see a couple on the streets, eyes on nobody but each other and stick his tongue out in disgust. Naruto, hopelessly sixteen, would see a couple giggling together and feel his chest aching with some strange emotion, an emotion that felt so similar to _hurting._ It came unexpectedly, at the most insignificant of times—when he saw Temari feeding Shikamaru with a spoon, when Sakura dated the civilian who gave her a flower every single morning and when Kiba would finger Hinata's hair in his hands thinking nobody was looking.

He understood loneliness, an empty, bottomless feeling that had accompanied him for most of his life. He also knew frustration and jealousy, feelings that were pretty common when you hung out with prodigies like Neji and Kakashi-sensei. However, he didn't understand this new want, this yearning, something more than the desire for a friend and less than a parent. It felt weird and strange, taking over his body, making him crave for physical touch, for companionship like nothing he'd fulfill with his friends.

Naruto scrunched his eyes tighter, trying to ignore the way his skin was heating up again. Just thinking of the...the Kaze...the Kazekage made his body fill up with an awareness that was so new and so _different._ He'd been hit on plenty before but it had never...never affected him like this. His breath hitched, his heart beat quickened and his fingertips tingled in a way that made him want to clench something.

He was falling for a man who only viewed him as a political bargain.

Something was _definitely_ wrong with him. He didn't know this guy! What the hell was he doing? All he remembered of the Ga..Gaara guy from the Chunin exams was that he was an annoyingly tall fifteen year old with a head full of red hair. He'd lost his head during the final round and let the One-Tail out, allowing the bastard Kabuto to invade Konoha and kill the Third. The guy who hadn't talked to anybody except his siblings was now apparently The Kage of a whole village and had decided that Naruto, a guy who couldn't keep his mouth shut even if he wanted to, was an ideal choice for a spouse.

 _Something is wrong with his head too!_ Naruto raged as he stormed out of the shower in embarrassment, bypassing his clothes altogether for only the sheets. He wrapped them around himself from head to toe, momentarily stopping his trembling.

"This is an arranged marriage, Naruto," Naruto told himself firmly as he hobbled out of the bathroom, "A contract. That's all there is to it. It may even fall through midway. Don't get carried away. Don't dream up stupid things. Don't be an idiot—"

His reflection shivered back at him, vulnerable and terrified and so brutally honest that Naruto couldn't help but stare.

Apprehensively, he drew closer. The mirror was attached to the inside of his wardrobe door, hanging open lazily, and it showed him to himself in all his pathetic glory—small for his age, frail shoulders looking even more delicate wrapped inside a damp, white sheet and tanned skin pasty white with fear and uncertainty.

Naruto usually never allowed himself to look like this, had his mistakes and fears bundled tightly inside his heavily padded jackets and loud, boorish laughter. Right now though, he couldn't see himself for anything but what he truly was and a strange whisper snaked through his mind and into his ears.

 _What does the Kazekage prefer in a lover?_

Dazed, large, blue eyes met their pair in the mirror and Naruto let the sheets drop away from his body.

He twisted until his back was facing the mirror, observing, frowning. Did the Kazekage prefer freckles? His body was full of those god-awful things, on his nose, down his neck, around his shoulders and even splattered on his knuckles and chest. His tanned skin helped hide them but they were undeniable once close. Did the Kazekage like perfectly smooth skin? Most people did...

What about the body? Naruto's body was composed of a mixture of awkward angles and curves. His hips were weird and flared out suddenly from his waist. His knees were annoyingly knobby. His arms and legs were lean and toned but they, like the rest of his body, were as hairless as a newborn's butt and Iruka-sensei often said he was too skinny. Was he?

Did the Kazekage think small people were cute? Or did he, like the rest of the world, prefer tall, willowy beauties that Naruto could never be, no matter how much milk he drank or hung from a branch—

What about blonde hair? Was his blonde hair, a little on the brighter side, too in-your-face? Were his eyes too big? Ino always said his eyebrows were shaped funny...

Would he look good next to the Kazekage? He hadn't seen any of his recent pictures but he knew that his red hair was legendary—though he could have sworn...that the man in his dream had dark hair—and if they mixed it with his blonde, their children might end up with orange- _fucking-_ hair—

Naruto caught himself striking a weird pose, observing his naked back, lips puckered in a strange pout and stiffened in shock.

A snicker trailed through his mind, tinged with animalistic edge, a whisper of _somebody's got it bad._

Mortified, face flaming, Naruto slammed the wardrobe door shut with a bang.

It was useless. Completely useless. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he denied it, his body and mind were openly betraying him, thinking of nothing but one single man continuously since the past three days and he was _sick of it._

He banged his head, a little too hard, against the cool, wooden surface of the wardrobe a couple of times before all of the fight drained out of him and he sagged against it, defeated and resigned.

"What's wrong with you, stupid?" Naruto mumbled quietly, cheeks bright with the evidence of his guilt.

This crush...this stupid, _stupid_ crush...

 _"The Kazekage has been hated by his village for most of his life, did you know? First for being a jinchuruki, then for being a weapon and then for being a failure. He has never known a shred of the kanji inscribed on his forehead yet he's one of the best fucking men on the planet today. He fought against the whole world and won. You'll be hard pressed to find that kind of strength nowadays,"_ Jiraiya's voice trailed through his head, dripping with admiration and Naruto's eyes dimmed.

 _I understand,_ Naruto thought softly, _I understand what's it like to be hated, Kazekage. We're so similar, you and I and I want to—_

His hands curled into fists, tension running up his arm and across his shoulders before they relaxed, giving one last shudder.

— _know you, understand you, be friends with you, help you. Even if this whole deal is a contract. People make arranged marriages work, don't they? Look at Shino's parents. It'd be nice, won't it? Somebody to love and hold hands with._

Naruto startled as an unexpected sob broke out of his throat, making him blink his eyes in surprise.

 _I want to...I want to love you._

* * *

Sakura yawned, not bothering to cover her mouth. It was too damn early in the morning for etiquette. The wife of the rich merchant they were escorting to Suna seemed to disagree and was sniffing disdainfully in her direction.

"Where is your shinobi, Nara kun?" The merchant in question asked, irritation straining at his mouth, "We should have set out fifteen minutes ago."

"He'll be here any minute," Shikamura replied, eyes still closed as he leaned against the wall.

The merchant's mouth tightened further and he turned back to his wife, whispering. Not that Sakura gave a fuck though. The whole family was dressed in celebratory garb—their bright, beautiful clothes completely in contrast to the dull green flak jackets and dusty pants the ninja were wearing. Sakura wanted to see how long it would take them to realise that their pretty clothes would be completely ruined by the sadistic sand of the Land of The Wind before they even entered Suna.

She yawned again, ignoring the wife and the lascivious glances of her eldest son. She couldn't wait to get rid of them.

"Sorry I'm late!"

 _Think of the devil,_ Sakura's mouth twitched up in a fond smile and she, along with the rest of troupe, turned to watch Naruto run up to them just as first light breached the early morning sky above them.

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

Gone were Naruto's big boy clothes. Gone were his tasteless orange tracksuits and his baggy pants and his padded jackets. Their place had been taken by a form fitting orange shirt and mesh khaki pants, silhouetting Naruto's slender frame to perfection. His travelling cloak and backpack were slung over one shoulder and he'd even gotten rid of the stupid way he wore his head band which forced his hair into messy spikes. He had strapped it to his arm instead and now his damp blond hair fell in waves into his eyes and the collar of his shirt, catching the first, gentle rays of the sun like silky threads.

Naruto had done practically nothing to change his appearance yet it immediately brought out his looks, unhindered by false deceptions of 'largeness' and muscle. Naruto wasn't pretending anymore, letting his true form out to bask in the sun and sing along with the breeze and Sakura found herself catching her breath, noting how stunning he was, even by carrier standards, now that the stupid 'manly' facade had been done away with. She kind of understood why men always talked about carriers with such a wistful tone to their voices.

 _What the shit,_ Sakura wondered, completely stumped, _What's up with this moron?_

"Sorry, sorry," Naruto huffed as he reached them. He looked at the merchant and his family and bowed low, apologizing profusely, "I apologize for the inconvenience I've caused you, sir."

"Well, that's quite-" The flustered merchant cleared his throat, averting his eyes quickly from Naruto's visible collarbone, "-alright. N-Nara kun, shall we head out?"

The merchant's son was staring at Naruto now, cheeks pink and mouth open slightly. The wife was glaring at Naruto like she wanted him to drop dead. Sakura would have been jealous if the realization for Naruto's sudden expertise in style hadn't struck her.

 _Oh Naruto._

"Nara kun?"

Everybody turned to look at Shikamaru who managed to tear his eyes away from Naruto just in time, "Right. Right. Let's go." Without looking back, he started walking towards the gate, neck a little stiff.

Naruto threw her a bewildered glance, eyeing the strange ways of the merchant and his family, sidling next to her, "Is everybody really that mad at me?"

Sakura wanted to laugh. She ruffled his hair in greeting, "No, bonehead."

Naruto heaved out a sigh of relief, "Thank fuck, I couldn't think of any excuses."

Sakura glanced at him and smirked, "Except for the truth, of course."

"Whaddya mean?"

Sakura leaned forward and whispered, "That you were dressing to impress. For a special somebody."

Naruto looked away, not meeting her eyes, "What? Pfft. That's not the truth."

"Naruto."

Naruto's shoulders sagged, cheeks reddening in guilt, "Alright, okay, fine. I might...hypothetically, figuratively, maybe have a teeny little itsy bitsy c-crush on the Kazekage."

"Look at you using big words," Sakura teased.

"Sakura chan!"

"How does it feel, Naruto?" Sakura asked softly, pulling at his hair in affection, "Not being burdened by so much weight of that ugly, gaudy orange jacket you wear?"

 _How does it feel to be free from all that pretense?_

"It wasn't an ugly, gaudy orange jacket," Naruto looked at her in the eyes, cheeks burning but a small smile playing at his lips, "Light."

The chains of Konohagakure's entrance gates screeched in exhaustion as they worked, gears whirling as the gate lifted upwards. The land beyond the village walls opened to reveal a few civilian traders, sitting on their carts and smoking pipes, waiting for the gates to open.

"Gates are open!" A Chunin guard called out from the outpost above. Shikamaru, recognizing him, waved and the guard waved back, "Heading to Suna for the festival? Lucky bastards. It's happening after eight years, you know?," He smiled wistfully, "I would've give anything to go. Unlike some lazy assholes, we have work to do."

Disregarding the outraged gasp of the civilian woman behind him, Shikamaru flipped the guard and he laughed, signaling them on.

As they passed the looming shadows of the walls, Sakura found herself praying.

 _Please God. Please let the Kazekage fall in love with Naruto. He can't take much more of anything else._

* * *

 **Beta-ed by Michiyuki-sama.**


	5. 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 3**

 _The curtains fluttered in the wind, letting the lullaby spill out into the summer heat. The woman sang to her giggling child, song a whisper of her love, voice like kisses on skin._

 _Outside, beneath the window and next to a pile of boxes— sat a boy with blonde hair. Face wet with tears, he brought his legs to his chest and closed his eyes, listening._

* * *

Naruto pointed, asking loudly, "What about that one? Which village is he from?"

The older daughter of the merchant tapped her finger against her mouth thoughtfully before declaring, "Hoshigakure!"

"No silly, he's from Amegakure!" Her twin sister said, pulling at Naruto's leg, "Neh Naruto?"

Naruto laughed haughtily, pulling his arms into a negative X, "Wrong! He's from Takigakure!"

The ninja in question, having heard the whole conversation, looked at Naruto with a gaze that could freeze fire, "Yukigakure, actually."

Naruto's mouth dropped open, "What? But I thought—"

Sakura smoothly intervened, pushing Naruto away and bowing politely, "We apologize shinobi-san, this is the first time the kids are going out. They don't know how to behave themselves."

The ninja nodded stiffly and with a parting glare at Naruto, walked away.

The girls were giggling," Are you sure you haven't stolen your ninja headband, nii-san?"

"How did you pass the Academy test again?"

"Not to forget the complete devastation of twenty nin in twenty minutes in a highly secret A-ranked mission," Shikamaru added from the sidelines, voice dry.

Naruto reddened, "Shaddup, all of you! It's all about overcoming theoretical odds and thinking on your feet, nothing to do with stupid facts—"

"I'm thinking I want to stab you," Sakura snapped at Naruto before turning to Shikamaru, "It's time we head out. I want to make it to Suna before night fall."

They'd been travelling for six and a half-days now, stopping at wayward inns and villages in compliance with the demands of the merchant and his snooty wife. Their festive mood had slowly deteriorated, becoming frustrated as they passed different terrains and temperatures. Their expensive clothes had suffered the brunt of travel, as had their stamina and patience. Sakura could sympathize; civilians found it hard to bear the wear and tear of long travel like ninjas. The whining, however, was slowly leaching away at her civility.

"Completely doable," Shikamaru nodded, signaling to the merchant and his wife who were sitting in a corner of the inn, "Vital, in fact."

The journey had been long and tiring, made more so by their burden of civilians. They'd been tromping through rocky plains when the wind had started to get dry and rough. Sakura, dusty and tired and desperate for a bed, had breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they were closer.

A bunch of men hidden under a dragon costume galloped past the merchant's wife, hooting. She shrieked, jumping in surprise, and Naruto and the twins laughed.

They had been a day away from Suna when they had started spotting the first signs of life. Now, when they were merely three hours away, it seemed as if the whole world was heading to the Suna festival. People were travelling in twos and threes and large groups, bearing marks of different parts of the Elemental Lands. Shinobi uniforms and traditional clothing spilled out in front of her in dizzying variety and she had even glimpsed some samurai. Naruto, who had immediately hit it off with the shy twins, had made a game out of it— trying to see who could recognize shinobis by their village headbands the fastest.

This particular inn, The Golden Eye, was especially lively—the dark, somewhat dusty room made bright by the excitement and chatter of people, their cheeks ruddy and their smiles stout as they laughed and spilled sake on the floor. Sakura looked around at the scene surrounding her—of overflowing mugs of ale colliding with each other and pipe smoke seeping into the peeling wallpaper—and shivered.

"How much longer of this awful sand before we reach Suna, Nara san?" The wife sniffed as she donned on her cloak, newly acquired at the insistence of her shinobi escorts, "It hurts my delicate skin you know."

"Your skin is our highest priority, Lady Shizuka," Shikamaru said with no trace of sarcasm as he bowed politely, making Naruto and Sakura stifle their snickers. "If we start now, we should arrive before the sun sets."

"What are we waiting for?" She declared airily as she passed them, walking towards the gate, "Hurry up, then."

Sakura huffed in irritation before roughly shoving her hair out of her cloak, "If I remember correctly, we had the option of refusing a second mission."

"No, we didn't," Shikamaru said simply, "They're related to a council member. They were asking for me specifically and Tsunade couldn't refuse them even if she wanted to." With that said, he walked away, joining the couple and their son at the door.

"Go on ahead," Naruto called to her as he helped the twins with their head gears, "I'll bring up the rear."

Sakura nodded and stepped out into a world that was nothing but sand. The wind was high and the sun blazing, the population outside always in a state of motion, moving in or out, never lingering.

When they were all arranged and accounted for, they set out, Shikamaru in the lead, Sakura and Naruto protecting the corners.

Fortunately, the time passed easily, with Naruto singing jaunty songs of the tone deaf variety with the twins, Sakura reading a particularly saucy romance novel she had borrowed from Kakashi (with the cover disguised, of course) and the merchant boring off Shikamaru's ear with talks of trade by-laws and practice deficiencies.

However, Sakura found she could not concentrate on whether Kaede found out about Aki's affair because they were drawing nearer to Suna and the crowds walking ahead and along them were thickening, the heavy sense of excitement in the air distracting her.

Banner of different clans fluttered in the air, small and big carriages becoming visible as they wheeled through the uneven, sandy ground. Here and there, the sound of crying and laughing children echoed in the desert air, light against the deep chatter of the people. Several groups had emerged into one and now and then, they passed people who danced as they walked, clapping their hands and stamping their feet to the rhythm of music and harmonious voices. The harsh, blowing sand seemed to have become cotton for the jubilant masses, their flowing hair uncovered and face open to the sun as they laughed, bottles of alcohol in one hand, children running through their legs. Even the shinobi and kunoichi scattered around the edges seemed relaxed.

Naruto and the children were turning as they walked, staring at everything, mouth open in unattractive gawks. Sakura smiled a smile of defeat, snapped her book closed and joined them in their staring.

When they heard the tinkling of bells, they turned to see a long, beautiful carriage—splattered with paint and patterns of nature, intricate designs and abstract colors— stuttering past them slowly. This one was done in the most wonderful color of blue and it seemed to shimmer under the bright sunlight, almost like magic.

Everybody was staring, people pausing in their celebration to gaze in wonder. They didn't have carriages like this here, nowhere near here.

"What is that?" One of the twins breathed, chest heaving with excitement.

" _A caravan,"_ Sakura breathed back in a hushed whisper, "I'd never thought..."

Just as it was about to get ahead of them, the wooden door of the caravan opened, revealing a stunning, dark skinned woman with pale eyes. She was dressed in the most peculiar and wonderful garb, all flowing skirts and puffed up sleeves. Smiling, she opened her fists and threw what seemed like blue dust at the masses. It glittered like diamonds in the sun, catching the light and the crowd gasped.

She smiled again and threw her hands open in a grand gesture, "As the sun sets and the sky darkens with stars, the gypsies of the west will once again dance under the Suna moon. We will amaze your senses and breathe life into your existence! When the clock strikes seven, you are will see the gypsies of the west performing in Suna after eight years!"

The crowd cheered wildly as the caravan wheeled away, all of them craning their necks to watch it go.

"Who were they?" Naruto asked, mouth still open in amazement, "I've gone to a lot of places with Jiraiya but I've never heard of gypsies."

"They're mostly restricted to the north-western part of Land of Earth," Sakura whispered as she breathed a sigh of contentment, "Gypsies are travelling entertainers, nomads who travel from one place to another and put up a show. I've read about them. They stopped jumping territories and coming down south after the shinobi wars started. We should count ourselves lucky that we have a chance to see them perform."

"Oh mummy, we have to go see them, we have to, we have to, please mummy!" The twins started begging their mother.

"We'll see," The mother replied curtly.

They heard the tinkling bells again and watched as a line of caravans, one after the other, travelled past them slowly, people and children in strange dresses sitting outside and waving at them, throwing toffees wrapped in brightly colored paper; shriveled, sweet smelling petals and of course, glitter. All of them called out to the scattered crowd as they passed them, sometimes singing, sometimes serenading their invitation. There was something magical and mysterious about them, a sentiment most faces surrounding her reflected, caught up in awe as they were.

They begin trudging forwards again, tired souls now alive with anticipation and excitement. Shikamaru had lost the ever present bored expression on his face and even Lady Shizuka was smiling, eyeing the bare biceps of a muscled Mist shinobi on foot next to her.

Another twenty minutes and the crowds had become so thick that they could no longer move at the same pace, Naruto holding onto the twins so that they would not lose them in the river of people. With a gasp of amazement and joy and relief, Sakura spotted the gates of Sunagakure, bold and foreboding against the setting sun.

Some of the tension leaked out of Shikamaru's shoulders , "We're here, guys."

"Thank Kami," Sakura and Lady Shizuka muttered at the same time, just as Naruto and the twins whooped in delight.

It was a sight to behold. Suna did not look like it usually did, awkward and huddled into itself, overwhelmed by the sand blowing around it. Today, it stood tall and proud, shinobi on every corner of the walls, gates open to let the masses in. The warm, orange glow of the fading sun was the crown Suna wore proudly— a rippling mirage. Suna was surrounded, people pouring in and out like ants, music and the sound of celebration spilling out of its every crook and cranny.

" Welcome children-" The merchant exclaimed with a voice trembling with emotion, "to the Village Hidden In The Sand, home to Gaara and Sasori of The Red Sand, pillar of Wind Country and host to the world renowned Desert Festival after eight years of waiting!"

Sakura frowned and exchanged glances with Shikamaru. _Did this guy just name an Akatsuki member?_

They surged forwards with the crowd and when they were finally a few hundred yards away from the gates, lined up for entry.

"State your name and purpose," The Suna Chunin said briskly, eyes not lifting up from the book he was scribbling in. Next to him, several of his colleagues were sitting on similar tables, a line of people standing before them, reporting their entrance.

"Jounin Shikamaru Nara from Konoha, escorting Lord Shizuka and his family for the Desert Festival along with team members Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno," Shikamaru replied calmly, "I'm also here to see Gaara."

The Chunin had stiffened in recognition when he had heard Shikamaru speak and now he looked up, mouth pulled up in a smirk, "Back so soon, Nara? You really are desperate for your girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Yes," Shikmaru replied shamelessly, grinning.

The Chunin snorted and waved them in, "Welcome to Sunagakure's Desert Festival. We hope you have a pleasant trip, you bastard."

"Do you know everybody everywhere?" Sakura asked in annoyance.

They stepped inside the gates and gasped as one.

The inside was even more spectacular than the outside. People were everywhere, in the corners and on the walls—colors of blue, red, green and everything in between shining brightly on people's bodies against the backdrop of yellow, staccato buildings. Even the buildings had been decorated, banners and flags fluttering on all poles, kites shaped like fishes and dragons dancing on rooftops. Stalls were squashed against the walls and each other, selling everything that could be imagined and everything that couldn't. Smell of sizzling meat and salt and broth, along with burning sweet and spun candy blew in from all corners. Two teenage girls were selling flowers, "Three for two ryo! Three for two ryo of any choice!" next to a man aggressively blowing bubbles at people, asking them to buy his miracle solution. An old lady watched it all from the shadows, dressed in layers of three jackets- purple, green and red. There was an insane expression on her face and she would cry out to anyone who would look at her in discomfort, "It's happening, eh? It's starting!"

Shinobi supervised from the rooftops as people pushed and stumbled against each other, eager to get to everything and everyone. Just around the corner, a stream of fire blew out, followed by loud cheering. There were stalls for food, clothes, candy, shoes, jewelry and more, shaded by the protection of bright, patterned covers. Sellers called out to customers with yells and bellows, others conversing with potential buyers, faces damp with sweat and exhilaration. In the distance, they could see the peaks of some rides—set up in the shinobi training grounds. Festive music was blasting out from somewhere in the eastern part of the village and it seeped into the street they were standing in, muffled by the sound of loud and excited voices of the people as they talked, slurped, laughed and haggled.

Above them, the sun set—leaving the sky to merge into a rusty reddish purple studded with blinking, white jewel stones. The gold and silver streamers crisscrossing all around the Suna buildings shivered in the wind as the world turned cold, the desert settling in for the night. Light flares hanging in the corners came alight with a hiss, bathing the nearest area with a dull, golden light. They looked a little like giant fireflies bobbing on walls, buzzing in joy.

Sakura took this all in, some unnamable emotion stuck in her throat, preventing her from speaking. All she could do was grab Naruto's hand for support. He squeezed back, face turned up to the stars.

Shikamaru was smiling faintly as he turned to the wonderstruck family standing behind him and bowed, "Our duties to you end here, Lord Shizuka. We hope you and your family have a wonderful time."

Shizuka, the merchant didn't even look at him, too enamored with the view. He nodded and started to walk towards the music, gesturing for his family to follow him.

The twins glanced back indecisively at Naruto as their mother pulled them along. Next to Sakura, Naruto had stiffened, his eyes tight. She squeezed his hand again, knowing how quickly the idiot got attached to kids.

Suddenly, one of the twins broke away from her mother and ran towards Naruto, the other quickly following. They rammed into him, enveloping their arms around his waist, "I'll miss you, nii-san!"

"Sora! Hoshiko!" Their mother called out sharply.

Naruto had stilled in surprise at the sudden attack but now he swooped down and gathered the girls against his chest in a fierce hug, "Of course you will. I'm unforgettable, after all."

The girls made a face as Naruto grinned at them, pulling at their pigtails playfully, "Now, now, don't be rude to your nii-san. Be careful and listen to your mother and I might just drop by at your house sometime."

Their eyes widened in delight, "Promise?"

Naruto was outraged, "Shinobi never lie! Are you kidding? I'll come over so much you'll get sick of me."

He pushed the twins towards their mother, "Go on. Let's not make your mom angry."

When they had reached their cankerous mother, Naruto shouted, "And don't forget to have fun!" They waved without looking back.

"Children sure are easy to love, huh?" Sakura murmured.

"Yeah, it's crazy," Naruto flashed a grin at her but his eyes were sad, "It's like these little suckers have some kind of pump inside of them they use to pull out all your love, even if you don't want to."

In a bid to distract him, Sakura pulled at his hand, gesturing to the scene around her—alive and loud and blustering with energy, "What are we waiting for? The Suna festival's opened after eight years! Let's get drunk on sugar and shopping!"

To her consternation, Naruto's expression turned positively miserable, "I'm broke. I spent all of my money on food and rent."

Sakura gaped at him in horror before frowning, "I shelled out the same amount and I still have enough. What the hell were you doing?"

Naruto's gaze shifted away from her and to the sky and Sakura's suspicion was confirmed, "You spent it all on Ramen, didn't you?"

"I was stressed!" Naruto cried out guiltily, "You know how much I—"

"Luckily for you," Sakura and Naruto turned to see Shikamaru had reappeared by their side, now holding three sticks with white, silky threads of candy weaved around it, "Tsunade paid me in advance. I guess she foresaw this was going to happen."

He gave one stick to both of them, before pulling out two yellow envelopes. When they saw the envelopes, Naruto and Sakura shrieked and promptly mobbed Shikamaru.

"Rock on man, rock on!" Naruto yelled happily, "For this, I'll make you my advisor when I am Hokage. Better believe it!"

"Tsunade is just a big ball of fluff and love after all," Sakura said as she wiped a tear from her eye. She could buy _clothes_ now. Jewelry even. "No matter how much she pretends to be an angry tiger."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he bit into his candy, smoke pipe now in his pocket.

In the end, which village leader would make sure to pay her employees in advance so that they could enjoy the delights that lay ahead? Sakura knew of one, she thought happily as she fingered the green, crisp ryo in her envelope and ate her candy, contemplating complicated algorithms of varying shopping possibilities.

"What's the hold up?" Naruto was now eyeing all the stalls in their near vicinity with the eyes of a predator, a Cheshire smile pasted on his sticky mouth, "Let's run wild!"

"That—" Shikamaru interrupted just as Naruto and Sakura were about to run off into the sunset, "will have to wait. We have to report to the Kazekage office."

Naruto and Sakura stared at their mission leader, "Huh?"

"We have to report in for the night. Gaara will be accommodating us in his residence. You can 'run wild' after we've called in, " Shikamaru allowed, eating his candy in a despicably responsible manner.

"What happened to you, Nara?" Naruto muttered under his breath as he slid in unwillingly behind Shikamaru, "You used to watch clouds and call anything that moved 'troublesome.'"

"I grew up," Shikamaru replied shortly before thinking and adding, "Troublesome."

* * *

The Kazekage Office and Residence was closed off to the general public half a mile off from all directions. Suna ninja were the thickest here, guarding all exits and entrances zealously, some patrolling the buildings with their spirit animals.

Naruto and Sakura had tensed on seeing so many shinobi but Shikamaru relaxed, his posture loosening as they drew closer.

When the ninja noticed them, Shikamaru waved casually.

"It's lover boy!" A Jounin exclaimed as he dropped down onto the street, smiling broadly, "I'm getting tired of seeing your ugly Konoha mug so frequently, Nara."

"Must be a refreshing break," Shikamaru replied swiftly, "from looking at yourself in the mirror."

The jounin laughed and clapped him on the back, signaling his friends on the roof, "It's just Nara, boys!"

"What's it this time, then?" The Jounin asked as he nodded in greeting to Sakura and Naruto.

"You mean, apart from slobbering all over his girlfriend?" Naruto interrupted, grinning cheekily, "Just here to sort out some contracts, that's all."

The jounin turned to Naruto and smiled slowly, eyeing him up and down in a manner that made Sakura want to bash her head against something, "Oh? That sounds boring. Maybe—"

"Shouldn't we get going Shikamaru?" Sakura said loudly, standing in front of Naruto so that he was no longer in the jounin's line of sight, "It's the Kage who's waiting for us, after all."

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied, looking at Sakura in exasperation, "Later, Mogi."

Mogi nodded, throwing one last look at Naruto, before jumping away to his station.

"Really Sakura?" Shikamaru murmured as they crossed the protection boundary. The genjutsu cast around the area wavered irregularly before breaking, revealing the actual position of the Kazekage's residence, which happened to be on the left and not on the right.

"Did you see how old he was?" Sakura argued under her breath, "Had to be at least Kakashi-sensei's age. I couldn't let Naruto fall into the clutches of a pedophile—"

"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Nothing," Sakura replied quickly, "Mind your own business."

Naruto frowned at her but she ignored him, letting chakra flow to her feet instead and taking after Shikamaru.

When they arrived, an attendant was waiting for them, face covered with a white cloth. He bowed and said politely, "The Kazekage welcomes you to his residence. He has asked me to show you to rooms in his stead. He apologizes for his absence and says that he will see you at dinner."

They bowed back before Shikamaru asked curiously, "Are you new? I haven't seen you around."

 _Click-click._

The attendant straightened, inclining his head in assent, "I started work a week before the festival."

"Right," Shikamaru said, looking around, frowning, "Where's Temari?"

"Temari and Kankuro-sama have gone to the festival. They will be back before dinner," The attendant looked at Naruto and Sakura with vacant eyes before asking ,"Would you like me to show you to your rooms? The guests must be tired from their journey."

Shikamaru was staring at the attendant, "If that's not too much trouble."

As expected, the Kazekage's residence was large and airy, marble pillars adding a grand and spacious look. Expensive paintings and sculptures lined the hallways— a pale, artificial glow lighting the edges.

It was also very quiet, their footsteps echoing around the hall, loud and unnatural. The somber, regal air of the Kazekage residence seemed to be judging them, pressuring them to stay silent.

"So what work do you do around here?" Shikamaru, unusually chatty, asked the attendant walking in front of them.

The man replied after a moment, not turning to look back at them, "I attend to guests and dignitaries. I also help out in the kitchens."

"I see," Shikamaru replied, "Thank you."

 _Click-click._

The rest of the walk passed in utter silence. Naruto walked next to Shikamaru with his head down and hands in his pockets. Sakura would have reprimanded him but she had no desire to speak, tongue weighed down by some strange desire to let the silence continue unhindered.

The attendant stopped in front of a brightly polished door, "This is your room Nara-sama. The other guests are down the hall."

"Yeah, thanks," Shikamaru nodded, "See you guys at dinner." He slid the door open and shut, disappearing inside.

The attendant showed Sakura to her room next. Before she went inside, she looked back at Naruto, whispering, "I'll come to your room after I've washed up, alright?"

"I'll leave the door open for you, "Naruto saluted and to her shock, she found that his hands were shaking something terrible.

"Naruto?" She asked hesitantly.

He dropped his hands immediately, looking down at his feet, "Nothing I...I'll see you later," That said, he walked away, prompting the attendant to follow him.

She stared after him, expression still a smudge surprised.

* * *

Shikamaru fell onto his bed, staring at the ceiling, a scowl on his face.

"Is she mad at me?" He asked himself gruffly, recalling the last time Temari and he had been together. His memory seemed to find nothing wrong, pointing out the fact that Temari had even hugged him when he had set off for Konoha, asking him when he would be back.

Groaning, Shikamaru rolled over to his side. He'd endured a week of nothing but Naruto and Sakura and obnoxious civilians and all he asked in return was a bed to lay down on when all of it was over and his girlfriend in his arms.

However, she seemed to have other plans, had allotted him to a room so far away from hers that he might as well have been on another planet. Her rage at him for something he didn't even remember doing was apparently so great that she refused to meet him in the entrance hall when she had always, _always_ been waiting for him, no matter if he'd forgotten their anniversary or broken her family's ancestral plate.

Shikamaru blew smoke at the ceiling as he stared at it, eyebrows knitted in confusion.

* * *

"My room's pretty far from the others, huh?" Naruto inquired as they turned round the corner.

"Our apologies. We didn't have a room vacant near the rest of your team mates," The attendant led him to door stranded in a far, deserted corner and opened it with a flourish, "Your room does, however, have a very nice view."

"Thank you," Naruto bowed awkwardly, trying to ignore the static buzzing in his chest, "I appreciate it."

Naruto supposed he should ask the man for his name but there was something about him, something about him and his hollow eyes, that gave him the creeps.

They stared at each other, the man not moving from his position next to the door, eyes fixed on Naruto.

 _Click-Click._

"Is something wrong, man?" Naruto asked hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Uzumaki-san," The attendant began in a dull voice, "The Kazekage asked me to deliver this message solely to you and that is why I did not mention it in front of your team mates."

"Huh?"

"The Kazekage requests a private audience with you in his office before dinner, if you are willing of course."

Naruto stared. His hand fell away from his head, falling limply to his side. His pulse, however, quickened until it was racing against his neck.

"H-Huh?"

"The Kazekage requests your company in his office," The attendant repeated patiently, "Should I convey your acquiescence?"

"H-Hold on..." Naruto stumbled over his words, left hand immediately reaching out to grasp the wall "...right n-now?"

"Yes," There was no expression in his voice, "Are you willing?"

A furious blush was working its way up Naruto's neck and he looked around the room in panic, desperately wishing for Sakura, "I don't know...I'm..I'm a l-l-little dirty, " Naruto eyes widened, "because of um, you know, the journey."

"Very well," The attendant replied curtly, "I will come back in fifteen minutes to escort you to his office."

That said, the man walked away, an open-mouthed Naruto staring after him.

The room he had been housed in was large and spacious, just like the rest of the residence. The furniture was elegant and modern, giving off a warm and inviting aura. Naruto, however, noticed none of this, stumbling out the room in a daze, intent on escaping into the sanctuary of Sakura's wisdom.

He stumbled back ten minutes later, having failed at finding her chambers within the tall, complicated house. He was even more panicked now, heart thudding in his ears and true to the characteristic behavior of a cornered animal, instead of making for the bed, Naruto wedged himself between the large wardrobe and the wall, bringing his knees to his chest.

 _What now, stupid?_ His brain asked him as his hands trembled against his knees in extreme nervousness.

His stomach had been bubbling with low-key anxiety the whole time they'd been travelling. He'd tried to ignore it, had tried to cure it by pouring large amounts of ramen into it and had even tried to steal Sakura's novel in order to distract himself from his own troubled thoughts.

It had amounted to nothing, however, because the moment they had stepped into the large, magnificent house, panic had sprouted out from his stomach like a geyser. It had then stuck to the sides of his throat, frothing further and further until Naruto wanted nothing more to shove the leaves of a poncy looking plant aside and vomit into it.

His heart thought it wanted this but his brain was taking their words back. He wanted no part of this pain and dread and uncertainty and _kami,_ was this what romance and love was all about? No wonder Kakashi-sensei looked like he was going to stab himself with his chopsticks whenever Sakura tried to test her matchmaking skills on him. This love thing _sucked balls._

And what was he supposed to do now? Did the Kazekage not realize that they were going to be stuck in a room staring at each other for god knows how many minutes with no way out and no one else to turn to for an escape? What were they even supposed to _talk_ about? _How_ were they supposed to talk? Naruto had a tendency to babble when he was nervous and was he supposed to just ignore the fact that the guy in front of him was considering him as possible spousal candidate? Would he hate it if he talked to too much because most people tended to find that annoying, okay who was he kidding, everybody tended to find that annoying and he didn't particularly want this guy to find him annoying because he was kind of in crush with him and it would be horrible if...

Naruto inhaled a deep, shuddering breath and closed his eyes. He gathered his legs tighter against his chest and tried to remember what Jiraiya had taught him.

 _One step at a time, Naruto. One step at a time._

* * *

Naruto stared at the desk in front of him, terrified.

"The Kazekage will be with you in a moment, Uzumaki-san," The attendant said as he left, his footsteps fading down the hall, completely in sync with drumbeat of Naruto's heart.

The room he was sitting in was very similar to the Hokage's office in Konohagakure except that it was cleaner and tidier. Mission files and reports were not hanging around as they pleased but were filed systematically in a giant cabinet behind the Kazekage's desk. The desk in question was spotless, it's wooden surface polished to a shine and the chairs surrounding it were far more comfortable than the ones Tsunade had to unwillingly provide in her office after a complaint from a council member. She had later told Naruto that she had done it on purpose, with the hope that the person occupying it would leave sooner. All in all, the place was clean and welcoming and Naruto morbidly wondered if the Kazekage thought that his office was a great, romantic setting for their first meeting.

 _Or he thinks it's a great setting for a business meeting,_ Naruto thought and his shoulders drooped, eyes trailing to the window.

The window in the Hokage's office offered a view of sturdy buildings and treetops, occasionally allowing for the passage of a light, cool breeze or a ninja. This window presented nothing but a glorious view of the desert and the village caught in its midst.

Tonight, on the other hand, it proffered a vision that made Naruto catch his breath. The desert was just a mass of black nothingness around a village that was lit up like a firecracker, brilliant and vivid. Lights were blinking and flashing all around it, the distant sounds of music, revelry and laughter trickling in through the window along with the cold, gasps of the night desert.

Naruto shivered, goose bumps appearing on his arms, a strange, arousing excitement flaming in the pit of his stomach. Inexplicably, Naruto thought _he's waiting for me_ and shivered again.

He looked down at his hands, around the room and then back again.

The clock on the desk ticked, echoing in all the spaces between Naruto's bones. He took a deep breath and hunkered down on his chair, refusing to think a single thought.

Until something caught his eye.

Something had been twinkling at him between the cabinets all this while and Naruto had frowned at it, looking away. Now, however, he looked deeper and speculated that it was probably some kind of glass or metal.

Naruto glanced away, made another circle of the room with his eyes before they focused on the same point again.

 _No Naruto,_ he told himself firmly, _if you do what you're thinking of doing, then that will be considered snooping and snooping is wrong, particularly if you're planning on snooping in the office of one of the leaders of the Elemental Lands. Snooping, in this case, might even be dangerous. No snooping._

He turned away, closing his eyes decisively. Ten seconds later though, he peeked at it with one eye, chewing his lip in conflict.

 _I...just want to know what it is,_ he thought longingly, curiosity lifting him from the chair and making him walk to the cabinets, _that's not wrong is it? Some might even say I was investigating suspicious security risks in view of the Kazekage's safety._

Conscience now safely buried in the rationalization corner, Naruto reached forward happily and wiggled his hand into the gap between the cabinets, seeking the shiny thing that had seduced him. His searching hand caught onto something that felt rough yet smooth under his fingertips. Grinning, he pulled it out, only to see that it was a notebook with a silver strap, bound in dark leather. Sewn patchily in the corner with blue thread was the name _Gaara._

Naruto's grin dropped and he almost dropped the diary along with it, an embarrassed, guilty flush spreading across his nose. Now he may be a prankster but even _he_ had limits and this thing between his hands practically screamed _personal._ This shit was not meant for his eyes and he should probably put it back pronto. If somebody, god forbid the bloody Kazekage, caught him with it, he was pretty sure he would be returned to Konoha with his head missing.

 _The Kazekage has a secret diary,_ Naruto thought and an incredulous snicker slipped out from his lips.

He made to put it back but his hand refused to go inside, curiosity gnawing it back. Naruto gritted his teeth, thinking _No!_ but his body still refused to obey him.

 _Just..just a peak then?_

Throwing a guilty, frightened glance at the closed door, Naruto scrunched his eyes tightly before pulling the strap open and letting the diary fall open.

A small, piece of paper slipped out from the pages, falling to the ground and Naruto scrambled after it. He picked it up and unfolded it curiously.

Two seconds later, Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers, face enflaming like it had been lit on fire. He snapped the diary shut and shoved it back to its place, lurching back to his seat in a daze.

He didn't look up when the door opened five minutes later. He didn't look up when quiet, assured footsteps walked towards him and he didn't look up when a low male voice greeted him, gaze stuck on his feet, the crimson of his cheeks darkening.

The bit of paper shook between his fingers, delicate as a china doll, flimsy as a coward.

Something uncertain and beautiful was blossoming in that cold, sterile room, something almost like a baby's first, hesitant step towards a future filled with running—slow and shaky and _breathtaking_.

"Hello, you must be Naruto."

* * *

A knock sounded at the door and Shikamaru opened it hurriedly. His expression twisted back to bored when he saw that it was just Sakura.

"I know I'm not your girlfriend Shikamaru but there's no need to make such a disappointed face when you see me, sheesh," Sakura said as she shook her head, letting herself in.

"Time for dinner already?" Shikamaru asked as he collapsed back onto the bed.

"Uh no," Sakura replied, seating herself near his feet, "I was just looking for Naruto's room and couldn't find it. The idiot told me he was going to leave his door open."

She sighed, "And here I thought we might go down to the festival. He probably went to sleep."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sakura said quickly, rubbing her arms, "It's just...it's just that this house is creepy as fuck and I didn't really want to be alone."

"No shit," Shikamaru snorted, sucking another drag from his pipe, "It's not usually like this. Usually, this place is bustling with energy. Maybe I'm in the quieter wing this time, I don't know."

"It's got to be the fucking staff," Sakura shuddered slightly, "Creepy as fuck, I tell you."

Shikamaru frowned, "And Temari."

"What?"

"Temari's not here. She usually is."

Sakura shot Shikamaru an unimpressed look, "You can keep it in your pants till dinner, right?"

"It's not that," Shikamaru muttered as he got up, blowing smoke at Sakura's annoyed face, "I can't put my finger on it though."

Sakura was about to say something when somebody knocked on the door again. Shikamaru scrambled towards it, making Sakura snigger.

He arrived at the door within three long strides and swung it open; expecting the woman with the warm, confident smile and hair that smelled like sandalwood.

Instead, he got the creeper with the dead eyes.

 _Click-Click._

* * *

"Hello?" The man repeated, confusion flickering in his voice, "Uzumaki-san, are you alright?"

 _Call me Naruto again,_ something shameless and stupid inside his head sighed.

Heart faint with fear and nausea, Naruto snapped his head up and looked his-maybe-would-be fiancé in the eyes for the first time.

Green eyes met his gaze steadily and Naruto heard his heartbeat echo around the room like an alarm.

The Kazekage stood in the shadows of his own office, face dimly lit with the light of the hallway. Naruto would have liked to have said that he noticed everything about the man during those few, intense moments—his tall stature, his sweeping, regal robe, the bags under his eyes, his green, _green_ eyes—but his brain goggled and got stuck on the way Gaara Sangaku's blood red hair fell over his forehead, accentuating the lonely kanji on his forehead. It shone like a beacon in the moonlight, so much more potent than the color of the seal inked on his own stomach, mirror to all the desires he had never known he had wanted.

 _Oh, this is bad._

The Kazekage's expression was blank and his voice impassive, "I am already finished with my daily quota of sadistic pleasure Uzumaki-san so you don't need to look so worried, I'm not going to come at you with a knife."

 _He's joking with me,_ Naruto realized suddenly in horror as he stumbled to his feet, unwittingly letting out a high-pitched giggle that made Naruto want to throw himself out of the window, "I-I apologize, Kazekage-sama. I was j-just lost in thought."

"I don't blame you," The Kazekage said as he walked forward and sat down in his chair smoothly, folding his hands in front of him and regarding Naruto over them with somber eyes, "Tonight's a night for celebration and mystery."

 _I thought this bastard was supposed to be an antisocial dork,_ Naruto thought in a daze as he sat down slowly, clenching his fists on his knees, the piece of paper entrapped in their hold, "Y-Yeah, me and my friend were p-planning on going to the festival later."

"You must," The Kazekage nodded, looking out of the window, handsome face unreadable, "Who knows when it will come around again."

They sat in stifling silence for what seemed like an eternity but what was really only a few minutes, Naruto's breath coming out in panicked little stutters.

 _Oh my god oh my god oh my god what now what now what do I do fuck fuck fuck fuck, pull it fucking together Uzumaki—_

Naruto took a deep breath and tried to gather all the vestiges of bravery cowering at the bottom of his heart, "Why-Why am I here, Kazekage-sama?"

The Kazekage turned to look at him, green eyes piercing. There was quite some distance between them, a whole desk worth of it, but the room felt like it had gotten smaller, the air was thinner and the Kazekage was closer than he appeared to be.

"Blunt as always, I see."

Naruto's contorted in confusion, "What?"

The Kazekage leaned forward, making Naruto pull back without thinking, "Why do you think you're here Naruto?"

Naruto didn't know what to say. He was sitting in front of a man on whom he was crushing harder than Sakura and Ino had ever crushed on anybody combined. The tactless confidence that allowed him to bluster into any situation head on had suddenly deserted him and he sucked at mind games. He was out of his fucking depth.

"F-For the mission, of course, w-what else!" Naruto laughed like he was choking, rubbing the back of his head with trembling fingers, "Gotta help Shikamaru with some business-y stuff."

 _Business-y stuff,_ Naruto winced.

The Kazekage nodded and somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto thought he looked very fetching, "Then what exactly did you ask me, Uzumaki-san?"

 _Smooth._

"I- uh," Naruto babbled, flushing, "That is, I was wondering why you called me to your office, I mean I thought...I was in trouble...strange huh, ahahahaha—"

The Kazekage interrupted softly, "You know, don't you?"

Naruto's panicked laughter stuttered to a sudden halt, "Um...what?"

"The Hokage has already told you." It was not stated as a question.

Naruto stared at the Kazekage, blushing furiously. This was not going as planned. He had planned to dazzle the village head with his amazing ass skills at being ninja and everything else but so far, the only one being dazzled was Naruto.

"Um...I..." Naruto took a deep breath, "...Yes."

"Yes, I thought so," The Kazekage nodded distractedly, averting his eyes from Naruto to the window. The pale lights from the festival flickered over his face, "It makes things easier for both of us. We've got some time before things turn political."

The silent, implied question hung in the air around them, making Naruto feel sweaty and crowded.

"I-," Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it, swallowing. He focused on the bloodless knuckles resting on his knees instead, "I...I'm not usually such an...awkward pansy, you know."

"I know."

Naruto looked up, brows furrowed, "You know?"

They stared at each other for a few moments, unsure and awkward. How exactly did one proceed to converse with another person normally when the omnipresent though of their prospective marriage swung like an axe above their necks?

The Kazekage leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. His lax, peaceful face made it look like he had fallen asleep and Naruto would have believed it, had it not been for his tense shoulders. He began speaking after a full minute of silence.

"I'm not sure if you remember but we were in the Chunin exams together, four years ago."

Naruto was surprised, "No, I remember—"

"Yes, that would be incorrect. I don't think anybody in Konoha will ever forget the Genin who lost it right in the middle of his fight and led the Third Hokage to his death."

"You did not—" Naruto interrupted but the Kazekage held up a hand, silencing him.

"What I meant to convey was that I don't think I made much of an impression on you before...the incident. I was fifteen and angry while you were so...so _twelve_ , caught up in your world and your friends, loud and prominent and so very inescapable that I...I found myself unable to look away."

The Kazekage let out a laugh that did not sound like a laugh at all. He got up so suddenly that he startled Naruto, who squeaked. He paid no heed to him however and walked towards the window, coming to a standstill in front of it; regal back facing Naruto.

"I think it would be safe to say that-" The Kazekage let out another hoarse chuckle, "that I had quite a crush on you back then."

Naruto didn't see what was so funny. He could barely think over the loud roaring in his ears.

"I was a stupid fool then, barely in sync with my own emotions. Now that I'm a little older—through responsibility I would like to say, nineteen hardly makes me a wizened, old man— I find that I understand myself a little better. Not completely but a little better nonetheless.

And when I reminisce about the deep seated but extremely well disguised admiration I used to hold for you, I discover that it was not completely...temporary."

"Every other day, Shikamaru or Temari will tell me a little more about you and every other day, I'd look forward to it a little bit more. I've nurtured this silly, little infatuation for as long as I can remember and it just doesn't seem to go away. Tell me, what can I do? I sent an offer for a marriage alliance to Tsunade-sama but in truth, it was meant solely for you. I see you sitting before me, Naruto Uzumaki and I find you no less stunning that I did when I was fifteen and had laid eyes on you for the first time."

 _Oh Kami._

"I-" Naruto could not stop his voice from cracking, "I barely know you."

Naruto heard feet shuffling and realized that the Kazekage had turned around, "Please look at me, Naruto."

Naruto did not look at him.

" _Please."_

Slowly, hesitantly, Naruto lifted his head and revealed his expression to the Kazekage.

Their eyes met.

The Kazekage looked back at the window just as a firecracker exploded in the sky, its light shattering over his face like a Kaleidoscope, the sound brilliant and loud.

"Life is an empty canvas."

"What?"

"I look at life like an empty canvas to be painted on with the colors of a human being. We, as a race, are an art form in ourselves. You'll find them in different colors, red or green or a mixture of more or completely pitch black. All of them beautiful, of course. Beauty does, after all, lie in the eyes of the beholder."

"I don't..."

"I want to create a beautiful picture, Naruto Uzumaki," The Kazekage explained, "I want to make something out of our useless selves. That is my belief. "

He turned to look at him as flashes of colored light fell across his face. Slowly, he extended out a hand towards Naruto.

"Would you like to know more? About me?"

 _I'm already halfway in,_ Naruto thought helplessly, _I couldn't stop if I wanted to._

"Yes," Naruto said breathlessly, reaching out his own fingers towards the Kazekage's hand, "Okay."

Skin met skin and the Kazekage's larger hand curled around his. He gently tugged Naruto out of his chair.

"Please," The Kazekage said, "Call me Gaara."

Naruto smiled beatifically "Okay,"

 _Gaara,_ he repeated in his head and smiled again, _Gaara._

Gaara gripped his hand tighter.

* * *

"May I help you?" Shikamaru's voice came out colder than he had intended and the attendant looked up, staring at him with vacant eyes.

"Yes," The attendant replied, "I was sent to inform you that dinner might be behind schedule. Apologies of the staff."

"That's fine," Shikamaru said, gripping the doorframe in frustration, "Is that all?"

The attendant bowed before he began walking back the way he had come, the annoyingly familiar click-click sound accompanying his departure.

 _Click-click._

When the realization struck him,He nearly keeled over in shock.

 _Oh fuck._

He shouted after the attendant, "Hey, hold on!"

When he was sure the attendant had stopped, he jogged back into his room.

"Shika, what is it?" Sakura asked in confusion.

Shikamaru didn't reply. He shuffled around inside his back pack until he found a random, appropriately sized box and strode back into the hallway.

"Attendant-san," Shikamaru said casually, fuelling chakra into his eyes to make his eyesight sharper, flicking his gaze all over him, "I have to give you something."

The attendant just looked at him.

"Here," He handed over the box, "I forgot to give it you earlier. You mentioned you work in the kitchens, right? I've got some specially spiced squid I bought on the way here. It's Temari's favorite. If you would, please cook it for dinner tonight."

The attendant looked at him for a moment before bowing, "As you wish."

Behind him, Sakura inhaled a sharp breath. Shikamaru's shoulders relaxed.

"Shikamaru..." Sakura said uncertainly behind him. He didn't need to look back to know the expression on her face.

He didn't say anything. His eyes continued to flick all over the attendant, internal alarm bells blaring at full speed, analyzing the past day for all mistakes that he had stupidly, idiotically, _mindlessly_ missed.

"I'd like for you to explain that, attendant-san," Shikamaru called out casually when the attendant was a few yards away from them, "Since Temari _hates_ squid. Everybody knows that," _Sakura knows that and she doesn't even live in Suna,_ "You should know that too since you work in the kitchens right?"

The attendant stilled. If he had been human, he would have frozen mid-movement. Since he wasn't, he took a few steps before he halted.

"It's time you explain to me what the fuck is going on, Shikamaru," Sakura bit out through gritted teeth, coming to stand beside him, hands clenched.

"Our attendant-san here is a puppet," Shikamaru said casually, "I just can't see where its strings are coming from."

Sakura was saved from replying when the attendant's head twisted around unnaturally, body still facing forward. Its head cover and face cloth fell away, revealing its true self in all its horrid, lifeless glory. The mechanical trap door masquerading as a mouth fell open. A cylindrical tube came out, pointed at them.

Sakura and Shikamaru reacted at the same time.

Shikamaru let loose three kunai at the puppet while he threw himself to the side. Sakura, however, threw herself _at_ it.

She somersaulted in the air, avoiding the shrapnels zooming past her, and landed on the ceiling. Using one hand to balance herself, she dropped down behind the puppet, or his head, and firmly delivered a punch to its head.

"I fucking knew it!" She screamed, "A women's intuition is never wrong!"

Her second punch came flying from the other side and as Shikamaru watched in horrified fascination, a single crack appeared through the middle of the puppet's head before it exploded into smithereens.

"Fuck me," Shikamaru whispered to himself. _Kakashi wasn't lying then, was he?_

Sakura let loose all her monstrous strength on the puppet till it was nothing but shattered pieces on the ground.

"That's enough, Sakura."

"We have to get Naruto!" Sakura said urgently. She slammed a fist against the wall in frustration and the whole hallway shook slightly, "What in the world is going on?"

"Fuck if I know," Shikamaru replied, dragging a hand through his hair.

 _Who is the puppeteer? Where are Kankuro and Temari?_

 _Where the fuck is Gaara?_

* * *

"Tch."

Naruto looked up from where he'd been giddily observing their entwined hands, "Hmm?"

Gaara wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the door, eyes distant, "I wanted to do this for a little longer. Ah, well."

Naruto's expression contracted in puzzlement. What was he talking about?

"Gaara? Is something wrong?"

Gaara turned to look at him, a stillness in his movements that hadn't been there moments ago. A cold breeze flew into the room and Naruto felt himself shiver.

"Gaara?"

Naruto was feeling uneasy now. He tried to pull his hand away but the vice around his hand only clenched further.

"Let go, man. You're hurting me," Naruto said, pretending to be nonchalant.

"You can call me Gaara, of course," Gaara began suddenly as if he hadn't hear him, "but if you want to be accurate—"

All of a sudden, piercing, hot pain shook through Naruto, making him cry out. His eyes fell to his hand to see a single, silver needle piercing his skin, pushed into it though Gaara's palm. Blood dripped from their fingertips onto the floor, a mockery of the embrace it had been before.

"—you should call me Sasori."

* * *

 **Beta-ed by Michyuki-sama.**

 **Also, I would love to hear some feedback on how people are receiving this story. So please review!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Mikado's Ink**


	6. 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 4**

 _"Did you hear?"_

 _"I can't believe it. A council member!"_

 _"Lord help us!"_

 _Naruto kept his head down. Flashing a quick look around, he ducked behind a large pole to listen to the three police men._

 _"Who could have known?" One of them said urgently, fear making his voice tremble, "Who could have predicted that it would lead to this?"_

 _"I wish his brother had killed him off along with his entire clan," The man hissed, spitting on the ground, "That filthy fucking traitor."_

 _"But who will stop him?" The other replied, his voice almost hysterical, "If this continues..."_

 _"The Hokage doesn't know what to do," The third replied in frustration, "He's as clueless as the rest of them. He never saw it coming."_

 _"Is it going to be made public?"_

 _"I don't know. The council is making enough noise as it is, running around like headless chickens, screaming for security."_

 _"Kami," One breathed, "What in the world is happening?"_

 _Naruto stared at the ground in confusion. He had been restless since morning, body thrumming with some strange energy. Something had happened._

 _Something in Konoha had changed._

* * *

 _I knew it was too good to last,_ a small, resigned voice spoke inside his head as Naruto stumbled back, ripping his hand away from Gaara-no- _Sasori,_ letting out a scream as the needle tore at his skin.

Instinct and training kicked in immediately, making Naruto dive out of the hallway but Sasori was too quick, too ruthless for him, jumping after him and stabbing him in his shoulder with another long needle and Naruto screamed again.

"Now what's the hurry?" A voice that had spoken with such gentleness before had now turned cruel and slippery, twisting the needle deeper into his skin, "Weren't we in the middle of getting to know each other, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto saw red. Twisting around faster than the bastard could predict, Naruto fished out a kunai with his uninjured hand and gutted him.

To his shock, instead of flesh, his kunai tore through wood.

Sasori stared back at him with Gaara's face and Naruto realised, with a sudden flash of pain, that he never really knew him at all, "Don't be like that, Naruto-kun. Let's talk it out."

"Fuck . You," Naruto hissed, scrambling backwards, turning around to get the fuck away when—

His legs seized up and he collapsed on the ground. He tried to move but horror overcame him as he realised that he couldn't, the poison from the needles having frozen his muscles completely. Panicked, he reached for his chakra but no matter how hard he pulled, nothing came rushing to the surface of his skin, no electricity cackled through his spine. It was like he was suddenly, utterly _empty._

"It's pointless to struggle," Sasori said pleasantly from above him, head titled to the side curiously, "It knocked out the Kazekage for eleven hours, I'm surprised you're still conscious."

 _The Kazekage._

Naruto felt helpless, like a lamb in front of a butcher, fear drowning out all his thoughts and emotions. However, at that name, his will flickered and Naruto found the strength to glare at Sasori.

"What did you do with him?" He bit out, throat convulsing with the effort to speak, poison slithering through all the joints and crevices. It was hurting him something terrible but...

He wasn't going to make it easy for the bastard.

Sasori cocked his head and stared at him. Naruto glared back as best as he could, even when his vision started to whiten at the edges.

"I don't believe it," Sasori said in a silky soft tone, voice full of hilarity and disbelief, "I don't believe it. Even after all this while, you still like the Kazekage?"

Naruto didn't say anything.

Another firecracker burst outside and a small, vicious voice slithered through his head, _**fight it, kit.**_

Laughter bubbled out of the bastard's throat, even as his expression remained terrifyingly bland, "You stupid, little thing. You're so naive it makes me want to retch. You think the marriage proposal was real? You think you were going to have a fairy tale ending?"

He chuckled, "Sorry to burst your bubble but I was the one who sent it. Pretending to be the Kazekage was quite fun, I should tell you. Had to make a new puppet, had to even replace all the attendants of the residence with puppets but nobody, except for his stupid siblings, suspected a thing. Can you believe it? Reminded me why I left this godforsaken village in the first place."

Sasori was enjoying himself. As Naruto watched from the corner of his eyes, the fingertips of the right hand of the Gaara puppet opened like a lid and five, pointed needles, glinting with liquid poison on their edges, peeked out. The fingers of his other hand continued flickering.

 _Sasori. Akatsuki. It happened sooner than I wanted it too._

"So I got rid of brother and sister dearest, sent the letter to the Hokage and arranged for the Suna festival to start again after eight years. It was more trouble than it was worth but I needed it for my cover and needed it to convince Tsunade to send you to Suna. That woman is too sharp for her own good and if it had been anything else, she would have seen through it immediately. I couldn't come across as too desperate to see you, you see? She would have known something was up. Queue made-up feelings and marriage alliances. I even took the trouble to plant Shizuka to elevate her fears. Did you know that there are several people in Konoha who sympathise with the Akatsuki? Well, now you know."

"Where. is. the. Kazekage?" Naruto gasped out and Sasori glanced at him quickly, as if in surprise.

"Still conscious? My, my, Naruto-kun, I have to give it to you, you're stronger than you seem. Don't worry your pretty little head about the Kazekage, sweetheart, he's as good as dead. Somewhere over the rainbow, the one tail demon is being extracted from his body and he is completing his life's pathetic purpose. It was almost disappointing how easy it was for us to kidnap him. My opinion of him dropped down further when I read that awful diary of his. You read it too, didn't you? Of course you did, I planted it there," Sasori casually put his arm between the cabinets and fished out the diary, throwing it at Naruto. It hit him in the chest and bounced to the side. The patchy, uneven _Gaara_ stared back at him and Naruto bit his lip hard. "I guess I can give you the slight consolation that his feelings for you were real. It was what gave me the idea for this plan in the first place, you know, but the lovesick ramblings about you and your blue eyes, Naruto-kun, sometimes made me want to stab him all over again."

Sasori walked forward and loomed over him. Their gazes connected.

"I can't say I blame him. You are ridiculously pretty, aren't you? Don't worry, carrier, I'll take you to your boyfriend," Sasori's voice was dripping smug arrogance as he raised his arm, intending to stab Naruto again, "My plan is progressing just the way I wanted it too. I never expected that I would be able to catch two fish in one go. The nine-tails too! Akatsuki might as well have already won."

Naruto held his breath as Sasori came the closest he'd ever been. Just as the his clawed hand was about to descend down on him, Naruto kicked out his legs with all his strength and Sasori flew back and crashed against the opposite wall.

Naruto sprang to his feet as quickly as he could. It was a mistake. His vision swam in front of him and he had to put a hand on the wall to catch himself. Panting, he glanced back at bland-faced puppet.

"You said it yourself," Naruto grinned at him, even though it took him a ridiculous amount of energy to do it, muscles straining in protest, "You're not dealing with Shukaku anymore. I'm the container of the motherfucking nine-tails you bastard."

* * *

"Where the fuck are all these puppets coming from?" Sakura yelled as she destroyed another one, slamming it against the wall. She healed her bruised knuckles before quickly attacking the next one, "Will someone explain to me what the fuck is happening here?"

Shikamaru didn't reply. He was too busy dodging the barrage of poisonous needles flying his way.

They had planned to go find Naruto after Sakura had destroyed the first puppet but since then, they hadn't even been able to leave the hallway. Puppets of all shapes and sizes, dressed in servant and shinobi clothes, had started pouring in from all sides, firing needles and poison at them. They had been completely cornered.

 _The puppeteer is cutting us off,_ Shikamaru thought as he ducked, letting Sakura fly over him, _from what? from Naruto? Why would he want Naruto? How is he controlling so many puppets at once?_

— **Welcome children to the Village Hidden In The Sand, home to Gaara and Sasori of The Red Sand, pillar of Wind Country and host to the world renowned Desert Festival after eight years of waiting!"—**

The dots connected inside of his head in one instant stroke of realization and Shikamaru cursed.

"What? What is it?" Sakura shouted hysterically, crushing two puppets against one another.

"It was a trap," Shikamaru breathed out. He suddenly felt very exhausted, "Sakura, the Akatsuki is here. And they want—"

"Naruto," Sakura and Shikamaru said at the same time. Sakura glanced at him with an expression so blazing that Shikamaru almost felt bad for the next puppet in her line of fire.

"No way in hell."

"That's the plan," Shikamaru replied, punching a puppet in the mouth, "But first, we need to get out of here."

* * *

Naruto staggered, hand gripping his bleeding shoulder as he turned around the corner. Pain was making his body tremble and every step felt like his last. He needed to continue moving, however, or risk becoming a catalyst to the apocalypse.

 _I can't keep this up._

Naruto was alive because of Sasori's mistake. Sasori had miscalculated and doused Naruto with the same amount of poison he had given Gaara, thinking it would knock him out. He had forgotten to take into account the increased essence of the nine-tails and while he had talked, Naruto had gathered enough energy to use it to his advantage.

Naruto saw he was leaving a trail of blood behind him and cursed. Stifling the panic rising inside of him, he continued stumbling forward.

 _You need a place to hide,_ a clinical voice told him simply. Naruto glanced left and right desperately, standing at the point where the hallway split into two on either side of him. The hallway on his left was empty but the hallway on his right had a large, oak wardrobe pressed to its side. On the wardrobe rested silver figurines, sparkling in the dim light.

Then he heard the sound that made his blood run cold. Soft, languid steps, following after his wake, following the trail of his blood. They were slow and unhurried, as if Sasori _knew_ Naruto couldn't run away from him.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty," Sasori sang softly, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty."

Anger made Naruto grit his teeth but fear kept him silent. He leaned down and pulled on the lower cabinet door. He had to try three times. His hands were shaking too much.

There was nothing inside. It was completely empty except for almost six inches of dust on its bottom and a cobweb hanging in the corner.

Naruto's heart sang with triumph and he pushed himself inside. The cabinet was spacious, long and rectangular, but short in height and Naruto had to fold himself to fit into it, his knees almost touching his chin. The cobweb had tangled into his hair but Naruto didn't notice. Holding the cabinet door by the edge, he closed it as gingerly as he could.

 _Okay, Naruto, now think. How can you get out of this situation?_

Naruto's body was arranged very awkwardly and it wasn't making it easier on his wounds and the pain coursing through his body, though the adrenalin helped. The poison was tearing him apart, having eaten into his chakra reserves and though the Kyuubi was doing his best, the poison was moving too fast. Sooner or later, his body was going to give in.

 _It'll just have to be later then,_ Naruto thought viciously, _No way am I letting that bastard put his hands on me._

* * *

Sasori's hands twitched incessantly as he continued to walk forward languidly. The demon container was going nowhere.

Smoke filtered through his senses, surrounding the hallway he was in and Sasori felt disgust bloom inside of him.

"You called, boss?" A gruff voice alerted him to its presence and Sasori turned around to look at the tall man dressed in the colours of a Suna jounin, smoking a pipe.

"Aah yes. Please arrange for the security around the residence to be conveniently distracted. I don't want any of those idiots interfering."

The man grinned, revealing nicotine darkened teeth, "We caught the jinchuuruki then, boss?"

"Not yet. Soon. How many men do you have with you?"

"I've got fifteen of them standing by right at this moment. My boys are more than up to the mark. What do you need?"

Sasori stared at him in contemplation. Two jounins and five chuunins were patrolling the Kazekage residence as of now.

"Send seven men to distract the Suna shinobis. Surround the boundary and station two men on each corner, just in case."

The man, a contract mercenary, nodded in acceptance, "Anything else?"

"No," Sasori replied, eyes fixed on the drops of blood marking the hallway, "Nothing for now."

* * *

Sweat dotted Naruto's forehead, body shaking as he pulled with all his might. _C'mon,_ he thought, gritting his teeth, _C'mon already!_

Naruto knew it was dangerous. Unfortunately, it was the only option he had left.

He had to leach off chakra from his life force, the core chakra that kept him alive.

Another big, mighty tug and a small dose of chakra sputtered and squeezed out, flowing through his body. Naruto performed the jutsu as quickly as he could, nearly blacking out in the process.

His head thumped to the side in exhaustion. His breath was coming in gasps and he tried to muffle the sound by covering it with his bloodied hand.

 _Did it work?_ He thought as he squinted, trying to see clearly through the black dots appearing in his vision.

His shadow clone stared back at him, cramped into the space opposite him, expression sombre and grave.

Naruto closed his eyes in relief. After a moment, he opened them again and smiled, "No need to look so serious."

The clone didn't say anything, like he had known it would.

Naruto sighed and took a deep breath, "Okay listen, here's how it's going to go..."

He proceeded to swathe the clone with his blood.

* * *

Jun grunted as he dragged the Chunin by his legs, throwing him next to the two bodies stacked nearby. The rest had been locked up and drugged.

A pity, Jun thought. He would have like to skewer all the stuck up bastards to death. Thought they were better than them just because they belonged to a village.

Yuuta was standing next to him, frowning.

"You sure there were seven of them?"

"Seven of them patrolling the place, innit?" Jun replied and turned to wave at his band leader, "We got 'em, boss! They ain't gonna be a problem no more!"

"Take up position on every corner! Don't let the little monster escape, ya hear me?" Boss shouted back.

Jun nodded and signalled to Yuuta. Yuuta didn't move.

"What's your deal, man?" Jun asked in frustration, jerking his head forwards, "Move your ass, we gotta jinchuruki to catch."

"It's just..." Yuuta said as he shrugged, following him to the roof, "I swear I counted eight shinobi bastards in the morning."

"Well one just ran off when he saw us old, bad mercs sniffing around his ass, yeah?" Jun laughed at his own joke, making Yuuta snort, "Boss reported seven. Stop drinking in the morning already."

"What? And force myself on women like you do?"

"Hey! She totally wanted it!"

"Whatever you say, man."

* * *

Sasori stopped at the edge of the hallway, looking down both sides. His eyes trailed the blood drops on the floor to the wardrobe in the corner.

"Come out, come out, Naruto-kun," Sasori said softly, walking towards the wardrobe slowly, "I can put you out of your misery. It must be very painful for you right? Your body needs to rest. I can help you with that. Stop resisting me."

He was six feet away from the wardrobe when the cabinet door burst open and Naruto-kun shot out of it, running down the corridor as fast as he could, dripping blood behind him.

Sasori let loose three needles but he made sure not to throw them too quickly. He wasn't quite ready to end this cat and mouse play yet. The boy was tenacious, yes, but that too, would run its course.

Sasori walked down the hallway leisurely, suddenly overcome with the urge to hum one of his mother's old lullabies.

As his presence faded away, another blonde boy, wounds bandaged with torn pieces of his own shirt, emerged out of the wardrobe and slipped away quietly in the opposite direction.

* * *

Naruto emerged out into the night and nearly fainted in exhaustion. His breath was coming out in pants and his chest was shuddering with each one, quickly tiring against the onslaught of the poison. He collapsed into the wall, glancing around for the shinobis that had been surrounding the Kazekage residence.

He couldn't find a single one. Somewhere in the village, a loud, thumping cheer had started, echoing over to the eerily deserted place and Naruto belatedly realized that it was seven o'clock and the gypsy show had commenced.

 _The twins will be there..._

"Going somewhere, sweetheart?" A man dangerously close to him chuckled and the hair on Naruto's head stood on end, "You look mighty tired. Why don't you let daddy soothe your aches?"

A hand laid on his shoulder and Naruto reacted blindingly fast. Pulling out a kunai, he rammed it backwards into the man's stomach, only this time, he felt the satisfying rip of human muscle.

The man screamed and staggered backwards, "You little bitch—"

"Fuck, he's here! I found him!" Voices rang in the distance and Naruto stifled the urge to let out a hysterical laugh.

 _Of course. Of course Akatsuki hires mercenaries. When has it ever been easy?_

A kunai flew over his head. Pushing himself off the wall with all his strength, he lurched onto the street. His legs shook violently before giving in and Naruto barely managed to catch himself on all his fours.

 _C'mon Naruto_ , he dug his nails into the earth, _don't quit on me now._ With a big, shaking heave, Naruto jolted himself off the ground and towards the sound of the festival. Anonymity amidst the people and noise of the festival was the only escape he had.

Unconsciously, without thinking, his body mapped out a path to him.

* * *

"Shit Shikamaru, you're hit!" Sakura called out in alarm and Shikamaru looked down to see that a needle had managed to graze his forearm, a drop of blood oozing from the slit. He could already feel his muscles atrophying.

"Fuck, you have any—"But Sakura was already ahead of him. Ducking a punch from a puppet on her right, she ran over to him, stabbed him on the forearm with the poison antidote she always carried on her and jumped away.

"How long?" He asked her, sweeping three puppets off their feet.

"It's a general antidote, it'll combat any poison for a minimum of three minutes," Sakura panted, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "Fuck! Is it just me or are these motherfuckers getting crazier?"

She wasn't wrong. They had managed to destroy most of the puppets but the few remaining that were had suddenly started exhibiting body movement, engaging them in basic level combat. Shikamaru didn't know what to make of it except that the puppeteer was getting closer.

"NARUTO?!" Sakura screamed and Shikamaru's head snapped up to see a heavily bleeding Naruto run down from the opposite wall. When he saw the puppets, he tried to dodge the needles but there were too many and too little space. Shikamaru's stomach dropped in horror as he watch several needles heading towards Naruto's defenceless body.

Sakura's dismayed yell petered out in confusion when Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke.

"It was a shadow clone...?!"

 _But it was bleeding!_ Shikamaru thought in confusion. His confusion didn't last long, however, when the puppets in the hallway began to behave erratically, jerking and twitching.

Sakura made a face, "What now?"

"Our puppeteer likes to make an entrance," Shikamaru murmured.

The puppets jerked as one before they started backtracking steadily, clearing a path for one man.

What he saw rounding the corner, however, made his chest clench in anger and disgust. It was Gaara or rather, a perfect copy of Gaara, humanity marred by the gaping hole in the middle, exposing wires and wooden tubes.

The body itself was a puppet.

Sasori was not even looking at them, eyes fixed on the spot where Naruto's clone had disappeared, head titled oddly.

"Clever kitty," He murmured softly before looking up and regarding them with dead eyes, "Konoha scum."

"Terrorist dogshit," Sakura spat back, hands clenched by her side, "Shikamaru, I may be drawing a few conclusions here but this human abomination here is Sasori of the Red Sand, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied, "It seems like we were set up. Akatsuki has been playing house in someone's else home."

Gaara's head was nodding unnaturally, "Clever Konoha scum. I'm afraid that's going to be of no use now. It's too late."

"Are you sure?" Sakura replied, "'Cause it seems to me like Naruto gave you the slip. Or am I mistaken?"

Sasori stared at her and Shikamaru tensed, preparing for a fight, _or what odd two minutes I can manage of a fight anyway_.

"You stupid girl," His voice was dripping with disdain, "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Let's find out then, shall we?" Shikamaru said quietly, hands clenching around a kunai.

 _Where are you, Temari?_

* * *

Aside from a few people scattered here and there, the street was relatively empty. Covers of different stalls flapped in the desert wind, pulling at the rods binding them to ground.

A woman selling dried packets of petals and spices moved slowly, shifting through the sparse crowd until she reached the end of the alley. A man stood leaning against a nearby pole, hands crossed against his chest. His chin was tucked into his chest and a large hat shrouded his face.

"Something is wrong at the Kazekage's residence," the lady murmured softly as she hobbled by, looking straight ahead.

* * *

The music was so loud that it thumped through his whole body, drowning out his thoughts. People were pushing, pulling, shifting all around him and Naruto breathed through his mouth, trying to avoid the blinding lights.

He glanced behind and saw two men with their eyes fixed on him, following him steadily. Naruto cursed.

 _Even with all this crowd, I'm too visible,_ He thought in panic, shaking his head at a man waving dripping candy in his face, _I'm wearing the clothes of a shinobi. I need to camouflage with the crowd._

On the stage, two men breathed fire in the corners and the cheer that went up in the crowd made Naruto's head ache. In another time, in another world, maybe he would be cheering along with them but now he couldn't hear anything above the sound of his panicked gasps and the fearful beating of his heart.

He lurched through the crowd, slipping through a narrow alleyway into another street. Glancing left and right, he sneaked into a hidden corner, trying to stifle his breathing as the two mercenaries ran right past him, cursing loudly.

"Fuck, where did he go?"

"That way!"

A relieved sigh shuddered through his chest and Naruto sidled down the wall until he collapsed on the ground, littered with food wrappers and coloured tinsel. He had to move, had to keep going but his body wasn't listening to him, had stopped listening to him, ready to give up and die in this little corner. It was all too much—the painful, electric shocks wracking his body as the Kyuubi tried to fight the poison, the desperation and terror clawing at his throat—and some part of Naruto wondered why, why he was so scared now, why today felt more like the end than all the other horrifying days he had faced.

 _It's because you're being hunted like the animal you are. The only thing left is to put a manacle on your leg and a muzzle on your mouth._

A sob broke forced itself out of his chest and Naruto tried to stifle it by stuffing a fist in his mouth. _Pull it together, Uzumaki. Sakura and Shikamaru are depending on you. Don't let them down by getting killed._

He thought of his friends, facing off with Sasori right now and the image made him clench his eyes in longing. What he would give to fight alongside them, rather than running away like a coward...

"What the hell?" The accented voice made Naruto look up in shock, only to see two dark-skinned gypsies, covered head to toe in a silvery, shining garb, gaping at him in surprise. They merged together into one woman, then separated again, "What are you doing?"

 _Civilian._

"I would like to get up," Naruto said in fake cheer, covering his shoulder so that she couldn't see the dried blood, "But you see, it's proving to be too a little hard at the moment."

The woman squatted down opposite him, eyeing him suspiciously. She was smoking a pipe, bracelets and sequins tinkling as she moved. Naruto supposed that she was pretty but he wouldn't know for sure, seeing as everything in his vision was swimming, "You drunk?"

"A little bit," Naruto replied. An idea struck him and he asked slowly, "Hard day?"

The woman snorted and dragged in a long smoke, "Harder. Trying to predict tall, dark and handsome strangers for twelve year olds can get pretty boring after a while. By noon, I wanted to doom them all to spinster hood."

Naruto blinked, "You're a fortune teller?"

"Yeah," The woman replied, shrugging, "Pretty good one when I want to be. What's your deal?"

 _Now's my chance_ , "Oh, it's nothing. Got a little too tipsy and messed up my clothes. Now I h-have to report to my c-commanding officer."

The woman winced in sympathy, "Bugger."

"Yeah," Naruto said, stifling his tremors as best as he could, "I was wondering if you could lend me something...?"

The woman took a double take, then shrugged, "Sure, I have something that could fit you. As long as your commanding officer doesn't mind you showing up in a gypsy costume."

"Anything," Naruto said a little too desperately and the woman shot him a weird look, "He can't know I was drinking."

The woman shrugged again and stepped inside the door she had come out from.

Inhaling slowly, Naruto glanced up at the moon. It was half full and it seemed to wink at him, brilliance made even more prominent against the sputtering of the festival.

Two minutes later, the woman returned with flowing blue pants, a white shirt made out of a smooth, shimmery material and a green, silk scarf.

"If you would mind..." Naruto said in embarrassment. The woman rolled her eyes and turned around.

Naruto got up as slowly, using the wall for support. His limbs were locked like a wooden blocks and his chest was hurting something awful. His vision had cleared a little though.

Naruto struggled to wear the thin, flimsy clothes as fast as possible, the loud thumping of his heart reminding him of every second lost. It still took too long however, his body protesting at every point, and when he was finally done, Naruto looked down at himself and grimaced.

The shirt was almost transparent, shimmering like rainbow shards as it caught the lights of the festival. It barely covered his midriff and had cut-out shoulders. He bandaged his numb wound, which had started bleeding again, with the remains of his shirt as best as he could, and then tied the scarf around his neck to cover it. The clothes were too light and free on his aching body, gentle touches in contrast to the tight, hard gripping clothes he usually wore. It almost felt like taking a deep, lungful of breath.

He looked up and froze in shock. The woman was staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face, gaze stuck on his shoulder.

"I'm standing here wondering why I'm lending my clothes to a stranger who I just met, one who is clearly lying, " She spoke before he could open his mouth, "When I'm hard pressed to lend even a comb to my own sister. I don't know why I'm helping you, carrier, but something tells me it is what I should do."

When you are trapped in a hurricane of cruelty, the smallest kindness seems like the biggest miracle. Naruto observed that his already poor vision had turned watery and he swabbed at his eyes quickly.

"Normally, I would hug you," Naruto said with a small smile, "But all I can say right now is _thank you."_

The women nodded and Naruto turned to go, towards the burning lights of the festival, renewed strength and energy in his veins. See if the fuckers could catch him now.

A hand on wrist made him pause.

Naruto turned back in surprise. The gypsy woman was holding him but not looking at him, head turned towards the other direction, staring at something in the darkness.

She tugged at his wrist gently, "This way."

"I'm sorry," Naruto said in bewilderment, trying to pull away but her grip held firm, "But I can't get you involved. It's too dangerous."

The woman shook her head, pointing into the darkness, away from the center of the village and into the corners— towards deserted streets and flickering lamplights.

 _What's wrong with this woman?_ Naruto thought in anger.

"Why?" He asked finally.

"You must go this way," The woman repeated. She turned to look at him, eyes centered on something above his head.

Naruto was freaking out now. Glancing behind his shoulder, he opened his mouth to tell her to just let go already when—

Her eyes flicked to his for the barest of a second and in a whisper so low he barely even heard her—

" _This way, Asura."_

All of a sudden, Naruto felt desperate. _Where? Where? Where?_ A voice sounded from inside of him, not in his mind, but somewhere deeper, somewhere closer, searing through his blood like a scream and it seemed like his legs were obeying a master other than his own because without conscious thought, he found himself limping— _running—_ into the direction the woman had pointed.

He was halfway down a street when he came back to himself. It was empty save for a couple of vendors unloading supplies from their cart, a man leaning against the wall eating something and an old man spinning cotton on a wheel under a very shabby stall.

An odd kind of hush seemed to breath down on the narrow, sandy alley from the tall, rickety houses—the festival echoing around its corners like the distant pounding of a drum- _thump-thump-thump-_

And the gas in the lamplights was low—its soft, blue glow swirling around the bottoms of the houses, mixing with the night like a scene from another time, another memory— and Naruto, Naruto felt strange.

 _What the fuck?_ Naruto thought, disorientated, _What the fuck just happened?_

His body finally seemed to realize its own limitations. An intense flash of pain skewered through his system and Naruto gasped. When he opened his eyes, he grasped that he had fallen and that his forehead was now resting on the ground.

 _C'mon Naruto,_ He panted, _You were doing so well. Don't give up on me now._

His body remained frozen. The shudders were wracking through his body freely and his vision had blackened at the edges, heart thudding dangerously. He could feel his body giving up the fight, the Kyuubi's chakra unable to heal the poison that was travelling at a pace that was much too fast for it and Naruto realised with a jolt of fear that his body was _done._

The back of his hair pricked and some animal instinct made him glance up at the sky to see two black shadows silhouetted against the moon, jumping over the rooftops towards him.

 _No,_ utter terror raced through him when his body continued to lie limp and he idly wondered if the gypsy fortune teller had been one of them after all, _No this is not how it ends. I will not let it!_

A small sob through him as he pushed himself to his feet, staggering forward and seizing the nearby pole, vision blacking out completely before coming back in broken pieces.

 _The hunters have caught my scent,_ Naruto thought hysterically, pants coming out like small sobs, _I need to shake them off before they shoot me down._

The vendors and their cart were long gone, deserting the place as soon as they had seen Naruto, sensing trouble. The old man had not even looked up, spinning cotton that was drifting away through the night in little puffs. He did not seem to notice—chin tucked into his chest, sickly, thin arms peeking out beneath a shabby yukata.

As Naruto blinked away the spots in his vision, panic raking through his frame, he saw something that made his heart burst into hope.

The glint of kunai and Suna uniform under the rustle of robes.

Naruto blinked and focused his eyes. It was the man, leaning against the wall, eating something that seemed like bread. He hadn't moved at all when Naruto had stumbled into the street and Naruto was almost ninety percent sure that he was a Suna shinobi.

Without thinking, Naruto stumbled towards him. He reached out trembling hands to clasp onto his cloak and ask in desperation, "S-Shinobi s-san, c-could you help me? I need—"

Their gazes connected and Naruto faltered mid-sentence.

He would know these kind of eyes anywhere.

It was the eyes of his old orphanage warden who'd continued talking to her friend about her favourite shoes while three boys beat up Naruto right in front of her. It was the eyes of the ANBU who turned his back while his partner doused Naruto with boiling water in the pretence of cleaning him up and it was the eyes of the old lady who's shut the door to her shop when Naruto had banged at it, sobbing to be let in, the sound of a closing mob loud in his ears. Naruto had spent his whole life loving a village that despised him but he would know these kind of eyes anywhere and here, there would be no help for him.

As if sensing his thoughts, the man gently jerked his cloak out of Naruto's grip and turned back to his bread.

A wolf whistle cracked through the night like a whip and Naruto seemed to fold onto himself. _You're dead now,_ the same sharp, clinical voice stated simply, as if pointing out a fact, _cornered like an animal._

"I almost didn't notice you there for a second, sweetheart. I must say, you can give a siren a run for her money, dressed like that," One of the mercenaries panted, swaggering towards him with an air of a man who knew he'd won.

"Gave us quite the exercise too," the other grinned, splitting his thin face into something shark-like, "It's time to come home now."

"Yuuta, look at this thing! You think boss will let me have a go at him if I ask him all nice and polite?"

"You'll have to get in line," Shark face muttered, his gaze scuttling like spiders down Naruto's spine, "'Cause I'm first."

Naruto knew he shouldn't let them get to him but it was working oh so perfectly, clouding his judgement and his rationality until he was all fear and instinct, pain pushed down under the pressing need to _get away._

And even though he knew what lay ahead, he glanced back at his shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Fat face muttered, sensing the direction of his thoughts, "Nothing but dead end and pain down there, hon."

They were six feet away from him, victory and something else, something unsettling, flashing in their eyes. They knew there was no escape for him and they were mostly right. Naruto's body and brain had stopped responding. He was exhausted in every possible way and his future looked bleak, caught in a cage made of steel and despair. It was over for him, really.

Which was why, against better judgment, something he had never cared for anyway, Naruto lifted his hand and showed both of them the finger.

And then he ran.

"You filthy jinchuuruki!" Pissed off shouts reverberated behind him, along with the sound of running feet.

Naruto didn't pay them any mind. His breath was coming out in gasps and his bones creaked against each other as he sprinted towards the dead end. He honestly didn't know why or how he was still on his feet. All he knew was that he was on his last leg and he had to make it count.

So Naruto tugged on his life force.

 _ **No, don't**_ —Began a familiar voice but Naruto didn't give him a chance. A scream strangled out of his clenched teeth as he pushed chakra into his feet, chakra that hadn't been there to begin with. His arms went numb and shocks cackled through his spine but he kept on pushing—

And familiar energy cackled around the soles of his feet. He gave a yell of triumph as he ran down the unforgivable wall blocking his path and proceeded to scale right up its surface towards the roof.

The angry, astonished shouts behind him were like music to his ears.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto wondered why the distance to the top seemed so far away, why the wall seemed to extend in all directions around him, expansive and vast.

 _It's the village wall._

Naruto had somehow managed to navigate himself out of the Suna festival and on the road to the boundaries of freedom. He was here now, his feet thumping over the back wall of the Village Hidden in The Sand, heart pounding against his ribs and escape was only just a breath away.

He sure as hell wasn't going to stop now.

Hope filled the crevices of his dying body, giving him that one, last spurt of chakra he needed to climb the wall and reach the top.

And screech to a gasping, panting stop right in front of a mercenary standing there blocking his path.

"Going somewhere?" His voice dripped with conceit, beetle eyes glinting in amusement.

The Suna walls were more than just a barricade against disaster. For the people of Suna, they were a symbol of strength and solidarity. They stood hundred meters tall, surface as wide as twelve meters, scarred with the memories of wars and histories long gone—still standing, still alive.

And they would witness his end.

"I've had enough of you, you little brat," a gruff voice called out from behind him, panting and Naruto flipped around to see Fat-face and Shark-face, hands on their knees, glaring at him, "Just put him in a motherfucking cage already."

"The bird is already caged," The third, unknown mercenary smirked, spreading his arms out in invitation towards the inky, bottomless depth of the desert that lay behind him, "Or would you like to try your hand at flying? I wouldn't advise it, your wings are broken and you might lose your voice soon."

A strong gust of desert wind blew over them and beneath all the cold sand, Naruto caught the whiff of burning meat and honey syrup. If he turned now, he could probably manage to catch one last glance of the burning festival.

"Fuck you and your games," Shark-face said from behind him, the sound of approaching steps getting louder, "I'm just gonna knock him out and get this shit over with."

Naruto's legs were trembling something awful but he refused to collapse on the ground, refused to give them the satisfaction—

 _Why,_ Naruto wondered as his heart thumped unbearably loud in his ears, huffing and puffing, nearing its end, _Why is it that when I'm this close to the end, when everything looks likes it's over, something inside of me screams in revolt? Why do I not give up? Why—_

Another firework, startlingly loud, burst in the night above them. It broke into brilliant shards of white and red— broken, wavering light falling on the shadows around them like diamonds and Naruto felt, rather than heard, the presence of a fifth, unknown presence.

Something inside of him wailed and Naruto flipped around—

—to catch a fleeting glance of Shark face, eyes wide in shock as a sword twisted through his insides merrily, silver steel sopping with blood and organs, a large, dark shadow looming behind him—

—just as the sky turned to black.

The dark wasn't enough to hush the sound of sputtering gargles, the sound of a man choking on his own blood, and the gentle thump of a corpse falling to the ground.

There were a few moments of shocked silence before screaming erupted and Naruto stumbled back unsteadily. He tried very hard to hear what was happening but his body wouldn't let him, the dull roar of radio static in his head overshadowing everything else. His vision was blurring, coming and going and his body trembled, caught somewhere between fear and surrender.

As if from far away, Naruto heard the muffled sound of shouting. For the life of him however, he couldn't seem to focus, blurred images flashing around his narrowing vision, coloured with black and white and _red_ and he put out a foot backwards to catch himself—

—and met air.

 _This is like something out of a nightmare,_ Naruto wondered idly as his body titled backwards and started falling.

In one last struggle to stay alive, Naruto scrambled, trying to reach out and grasp onto something, _anything_. He clawed desperately onto the rough wall but gravity gave a big tug and his fingertips fell away.

 _Is this it?_ Naruto thought as he fell backwards into the night, body unresponsive to his screaming demands. _Is this how I die?_

It wasn't a nightmare. It was real. As the distance from the top slowly melted away into black, Naruto closed his eyes at last, a few teardrops slipping away from under his eyelashes.

They say a person's life flashes before them as they die but all Naruto heard, as the air rushed around him, was the sound of a woman singing.

 _Have I heard her before?_ Naruto thought, broken memories of a beautiful smile and eyes filled with love, for _him,_ flashing through his mind and Naruto decided that this was an almost nice way to die when—

The singing abruptly stopped and Naruto's eyes jerked open.

Blank eyes stared back at him, a large hand clasped around his.

As if in slow motion, the face cloth covering the man's lower face loosened and fell away, flapping erratically as another gust of wind assaulted them.

A firework burst over their head, showering them with light.

"Wha—" startled Naruto, body jolting as he realised that he'd stopped falling, suspended on the middle of a wall only because of the hand around his.

"Would you mind?" The man murmured in irritation, voice grave and low-pitched, "I'm trying to save you here."

Naruto stared back in surprise, the last of tears seeping out of the corner of his eyes. His legs were situated firmly on the vertical wall, courtesy of the man who was tethering him to safety, apparently having run after him. The stranger was standing on the wall, one hand holding the weight of Naruto's body, the other gripping a blood darkened sword.

 _It's him,_ Naruto realised immediately, _he killed all of them._

He didn't get a chance to react or even think, however, because the next thing he knew, he was being hauled forward and an arm was being wrapped around his waist. Naruto gurgled out a pained sound when he was thrown over the man's shoulder like a limp rag.

"What—?" Naruto began again, voice cracking in the middle, vision swimming as he was turned upside down.

The man didn't reply and the tell tale sound of rushing wind told Naruto that he'd began climbing back up the wall.

 _What in the world is happening?_

A familiar voice greeted them at the top and Naruto's blood turned to ice, "What are you doing? Why did you kill all of your teammates?"

 _Oh no,_ Naruto thought in fear as he began struggling in the mercenary's grip, _Oh no, oh no, oh no._

He didn't expect the man to drop him on the ground without thought. The wind got knocked out of his lungs and Naruto gasped, hands coming to claw at his windpipe.

Sasori's voice rang out again, "You will not get your dead friends' share. Greed has made you blind."

As Naruto turned on the floor, wheezing, he heard the man give a bark of laughter. It was a strange, unnatural sound—resonating in the quite like something frightening.

"No, Sasori." The man said finally, making Sasori stiffen, "Greed has made _you_ blind. I'm afraid you've made a mistake."

"What?" Sasori's voice lashed out.

"Personally, I think you should have cleared out after you captured the Kazekage. But you, in your greed to fish in another jinchuuruki, decided to stay behind. That was a mistake."

Sasori didn't say anything, puppet body frozen like a statue, and the man looked up in realization.

" _Oh,"_ the man said slowly, "You didn't know I was tracking you."

Tense silence followed for a minute. The man broke it by saying, "And here I thought you were going to be the smart one. Not going to lie, I'm kind of disappointed."

"Nobody knows I'm here," Sasori replied, voice cold and edgy, "Not even the village itself. Not even the great Konohagakure."

"I guess," The man replied, "But those who wanted to catch your scent, caught your scent. Like me, for example. And you were so focused on hunting the jinchuuruki here, you didn't even notice that somebody was hunting _you._ "

Sasori's body was poised to attack, fingers flickering rapidly, "You."

The man laughed again, voice free and rich but something about it was dark and hysterical, like a wild animal tightly muzzled, saliva frothing around its jaws, "Yes, Sasori, _me_. You've finally realised, haven't you? I hope you put up a better fight than your partner did."

 _Who,_ Naruto wondered as he lay on the ground, breaths coming in slow, shuddering gasps, vision trickling down to a narrow, blurred line, _who are you?_

The man cracked his neck before assuming a loose and casual battle stance. He raised an eyebrow, "What are you waiting for? Let's get this over with."

"I will destroy you, Sasuke Uchiha."

The man smirked and his obsidian eyes dissolved into blazing red.

"I've heard that one before."

* * *

 **Feedback is appreciated :)**


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